<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>After Forty Years by Asu_Shu_Namir</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26246941">After Forty Years</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asu_Shu_Namir/pseuds/Asu_Shu_Namir'>Asu_Shu_Namir</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 13:21:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>26,393</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26246941</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asu_Shu_Namir/pseuds/Asu_Shu_Namir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After forty years frozen in an iceberg, Avatar Aang is awoken by a young waterbender of the Southern Tribe--a girl called Hama.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Brief Hama (Avatar)/Original Female Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Boy in the Iceberg</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Today, students, we’ll be dealing with ice,” Master Sasato’s voice echoed from the top of the iceberg. “Now, keep in mind, ice requires an entirely different frame of mind than what you’re used to. While water is fluid and smooth, ice is rigid and unyielding.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Rigid and unyielding. I like that. </em>Hama let go of her oars and flexed her fingers, staring at the icy surface before her. She and her classmates sat, two to a canoe, around the iceberg where their teacher stood. The ice rose up in a jagged, crystalline pattern. Rigid and unyielding.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“For your first time, I want you to simply focus on melting the ice.” Sasato raised a wall of water in front of him, froze it for a moment, then melted it back into the ocean. “Waterbending is all about cycle and flow. Allow the water’s energy to flow with your own. Try the motion a couple times, just to get the hang of it. I don’t expect you to get it on your first try.” He looked down his nose at Hama and her classmate Mika as he said the last part. It was no secret that he doubted both of their abilities, as the only girls in the class. <em> It doesn’t matter what he thinks of me </em> , Hama reminded herself. <em> He </em> has <em> to teach me. That’s what the elders said. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Their canoe wobbled as Mika set down her oars and began to copy the motion. “Your wrists are too loose,” commented Hama from behind.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Let’s see you do it,” Mika retorted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hama shrugged. She pulled off her gloves--she’d always worked better with bare skin, even though her fingers stung with the cold--and copied Sasato’s motion. The master was barely able to stumble back in time as half the iceberg he had been standing on tumbled into the sea.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mika gaped at her. “How did you do that?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hama shrugged again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sasato pulled water back up from the ocean and re-froze the iceberg into an approximation of its former shape. “Thank you, Hama, for that… <em> forceful </em>display. Unfortunately, raw power alone will not get you everywhere in waterbending.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hama looked around at the rest of the class. The other students were focused on the ice before them, repeating the movement to no effect. She tapped the wall of ice in front of her, smooth and translucent now that Sasato had frozen it back. “It seems to have gotten me pretty far.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sasato pinched the bridge of his nose. “I admit that you have remarkable talent. But sooner or later you will have to connect to the more spiritual side of waterbending.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em> How </em> soon? You won’t let me progress to the next class!” Hama gestured to the teenage boys practicing advanced moves on a nearby glacier. The future of the Southern Tribe’s waterbending warriors, according to Sasato. A bunch of stuck-up jerks, Hama thought. <em> I could kick their butts if he’d just let me join them. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You are not yet ready. As I said, you have yet to grasp the true meaning of waterbending. Besides, the youngest member of the advanced class is sixteen--three years older than you are, Hama.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You don’t care about my age. You don’t care about my ability, either.” Mika yelped as the canoe began to rock back and forth. Hama ignored her. “If I was a boy, you’d let me join. You’d let me become a warrior and do whatever I wanted. You just don’t want to admit that a <em> girl </em> is better than your entire advanced class--better than <em> you </em>!” Hama’s voice rose to a scream as she flung her arms down. The entire iceberg collapsed into the water, Sasato with it. He disappeared below the surface briefly before rising back up and forming his own small sheet of ice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Students, follow me. We’re going back to town.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But we just started!” whined a boy from a nearby canoe.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, maybe next time your <em> classmate </em> should think before she destroys the iceberg we’re working on.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The boy glared at Hama. She glared back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Come on.” Sasato created a wave that pushed him back in the direction of the mainland. The other students sighed and followed him. Hama grabbed her oars and  began to row in the opposite direction.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mika tried to wrench the oar from her hand. “Hey, where are you going? The town is that way.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know.” Hama grabbed it back. “I’m going to find my own ice.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We’re not supposed to--”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hama froze a block of ice next to the canoe. Mika stared at her. Hama gestured to it impatiently. “Get on.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With much wobbling, Mika clambered out of the canoe and sat down on the ice. “You’re scary.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know.” Hama sent her shooting towards the rest of the group. Mika screamed and clung to the ice, then collided with a canoe. The boy inside stood and pointed at Hama, then Master Sasato yelled something in her direction. Hama pulled her hood up over her ears and began to row away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Stupid Sasato, stupid Mika, stupid, stupid, <em> stupid, </em>” she muttered. A small patch of ice floated past and she melted it with a single, furious motion. “I’m the best waterbender in the class. In the whole tribe, probably. I could beat Sasato if he’d just let me try.” She jerked the oars back, thrusting the canoe forward, then leaned back. “I’ll show them. I’ll show them all.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The canoe was still going forward, despite the fact that her oars were unmoving in the water. In fact, Hama noticed with growing alarm, the canoe was moving faster and faster. A natural current, stronger than any she’d ever seen, was pulling her through a patch of water full of enormous ice floes. Hama frantically melted one moments before her canoe crashed into it, then her canoe jerked to the side and she was nearly flung into the ocean. She tried to control the movement of the water, but Sasato hadn’t taught her to manipulate currents yet. <em> "Stupid." </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hama grabbed her oars and attempted to steer. The current was too strong, and every time she melted an ice floe, the water from it pushed the canoe in a different direction. Unable to change her course, she clung to the side and hoped for the best. <em> The best </em> was, evidently, being thrown out of the canoe and into the frigid sea moments before the canoe was crushed between two colliding blocks. Shivering, Hama climbed onto one of them and pulled the water out of her clothes and hair. She looked at the splinters of wood that were all that remained of her canoe. “Well, crap.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Though it was a sunny day, the sheet she was standing on was in complete shadow. Hama looked up to see an enormous iceberg rising from the sea, twice as wide as the one her class had been working on and four times as tall. Hama whistled. “Now <em> that’s </em>an iceberg.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She readjusted her stance and brought her hands into position. “Think I can’t handle a little ice, Sasato? I’ll show you.” A crack appeared in the top of the iceberg. Hama continued to work, channeling her anger at Sasato and Mika and the whole damn tribe into every punch. The crack grew and multiplied until suddenly the iceberg shattered, sending Hama flying back. She stood and blew the hair out of her face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A second iceberg rose to the surface where the first one had been. Hama stared at it. Icebergs formed on the surface, they didn’t rise from the seafloor, she knew this--but this impossibility was pushed from her mind by a second one. The iceberg glowed with a gentle blue light, and inside--Hama squinted to make sure she was really seeing this--was a human figure. A child, by the looks of it, seated underneath the body of some sort of enormous creature.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hama formed a wave under her block of ice to push herself forward. “How the hell--?” She had heard stories of men going off to hunt and their frozen bodies being found months or even years later, but this child was too young to have gone hunting, and that didn’t account for the iceberg rising from the sea, the blue light, or the glowing arrow that seemed to have been painted on his forehead. Hama performed one more melting motion, and the icy wall in front of her melted away, releasing a jet of frigid air that knocked her backward. By the time she got her bearings and stood up, the boy inside had stumbled to the edge of the iceberg. He seemed even more disoriented than she was. “You’re alive?” she whispered, approaching him slowly. He collapsed to his hands and knees and Hama grasped him by the shoulders. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The boy was silent for a long time. Then he looked up and his eyes met hers. “Will you go penguin sledding with me?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Fire Prince</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Crown Prince of the Fire Nation paced the deck of his ship.</p><p> </p><p>Behind him, his men were preparing for battle. They helped each other into their armor, polished their weapons, practiced their stances. It was all a part of his father’s great plan for world domination--and Iroh would be fine with it, if only it wasn’t so damned cold.</p><p> </p><p>Admiral Shang placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’re nearly in sight of the town, Prince Iroh.”</p><p> </p><p>Iroh nodded. “Prepare the landing party.”</p><p> </p><p>Shang limped away. He had an old wound, Iroh remembered--his leg had been injured in battle decades ago. It was the one war story Shang wouldn’t tell. As a result of the injury, the old commander was pretty much useless in battle, but Iroh didn’t mind. He was excellent at strategizing beforehand, and besides, Iroh appreciated his company. Especially on long voyages like this.</p><p> </p><p>He was beginning to put on his armor when his attention was drawn to the other side of the ship. Off in the distance, an enormous beam of light shot up out of the ice and into the sky. Iroh grabbed his telescope and focused in. Two figures were standing under the light: one in Water Tribe blue, and the other in--were those airbender colors? He twisted the telescope, trying to get a better view, but he still couldn’t make out any individual features.</p><p> </p><p>“The men are ready, Prince Iroh.” </p><p> </p><p>Iroh jumped. He hadn’t heard the admiral approach. He turned around and placed the telescope in Shang’s hand. “Look over there.”</p><p> </p><p>As Shang refocused, Iroh leaned over the railing and squinted at the two figures. They were moving towards the town on top of a moving iceberg--no, not an iceberg. An enormous, white, shaggy beast. “Those are airbender clothes, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Shang nodded and handed him back the telescope. “I don’t know what to make of it.”</p><p> </p><p>“An airbender. At the South Pole.” Iroh shook his head. “I thought my grandfather killed them all.”</p><p> </p><p>“He did. He was trying to kill the Avatar.” Shang looked down at his hands, gripping the cold metal railing. “He destroyed the Air Temples and killed every man, woman and child there. But according to the Fire Sages, the Avatar was never reborn into the Water Tribes. He somehow managed to escape.”</p><p> </p><p>Iroh held the telescope to his eye. The figure in orange and yellow jumped from the animal’s head and rose twenty feet in the air, then turned a graceful loop-the-loop as he fell. “So that airbender right there--”</p><p> </p><p>“Is the Avatar.”</p><p> </p><p>Iroh whistled and tucked the telescope back into his pocket. He turned to Shang. “What should we do?”</p><p> </p><p>“The Avatar is making his way toward the Water Tribe town. He obviously plans to join their forces. A powerful bender of all the elements--he could turn the tables in this war.”</p><p> </p><p>“We can’t allow him to reach the town.”</p><p> </p><p>Shang nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Iroh straightened. “Go to the helmsman and tell him there’s been a change of plans. We’re going after the Avatar.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Ship</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“How far away is your town, exactly?” asked Aang. He turned around to look at the girl on Appa’s back. Her hair was loose about her face, and tied in the back under an embroidered blue cap. She wore a fur-lined parka that reached down to her knees. She started when he mentioned the town.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… actually wasn’t planning on going home.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You weren’t?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook her head. “I left on purpose. The people there hold me back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, what, you… decided to leave forever?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded resolutely. “My town is the biggest in the South Pole, but there are other villages. I’ll find somewhere else to live. A place where people appreciate a powerful waterbender like me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang airbent himself up and sat down in Appa’s saddle facing her. “You’re a waterbender?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” She pulled a stream of water from the ocean and blasted him in the face with it. He yelped, then dried himself off with a blast of wind that sprayed her with droplets. They both laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never met a waterbender before,” said Aang.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never met an airbender.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So I guess this is a first for both of us.” Aang stuck a hand out. “I’m Aang.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook it. “Hama.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang leaned back. “So where’s this new village we’re going to?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… I don’t know, actually. I wasn’t planning on leaving. It was just… today, in class, my teacher wouldn’t teach me what I wanted to learn…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So? Your teacher is probably just waiting until you’re ready. Hey, I pestered the elder monks since I was six to give me my master tattoos, and I only just got them last year. You’ll learn everything you want to, eventually.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama shook her head. “Sasato will never teach me advanced waterbending. He doesn’t want me to learn. In the Water Tribe, only the men fight. Women heal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Aang thought for a moment. What was he supposed to say? The Air Nomads didn’t have any restrictions like that--not that the Air Nomads did much fighting. “If he’s willing to teach you anyway, you must be really good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t my decision. The elders said that there’s a threat of invasion and we don’t have enough manpower. So now they have to teach girls.” Hama shrugged. “Not that it adds much to our numbers. There are only two girls in my class, and the other one is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mika</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold on, a threat of </span>
  <em>
    <span>invasion</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. From the Fire Nation. They haven’t bothered us yet, but with the way they’ve been grabbing up land in the Earth Kingdom, it’s only a matter of time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang leaned back against Appa’s neck. The Fire Nation had taken a few colonies in the Earth Kingdom, but they hadn’t done anything compared to attacking the South Pole. Or maybe they had. The Southern Air Temple was isolated and far from the center of activity, and the monks hardly made it a priority to keep up with the news. Maybe he simply hadn’t heard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Snow began to fall. No, not snow--</span>
  <em>
    <span>soot</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Aang looked up to see a black cloud looming overhead, and underneath it, with more and more smoke billowing out of a cylinder on top, was an enormous metal ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never seen a ship like that,” breathed Aang. “I didn’t even know it was possible to make one out of metal. Or power it by burning coal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Some men of my tribe have traveled to the Earth Kingdom and come back with stories about ships like that,” said Hama with a tremor in her voice. “They come from the Fire Nation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do we do?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama slid off of Appa’s back. “Hope I can remember some of what Sasato showed me.” She quickly froze a sheet of ice for herself to stand on, then crouched, an expression of concentration on her face. She raised her arms and a wall of water came up from the ocean, then crashed back down. Hama cursed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I, uh, hate to rush you, but… that ship is getting pretty close.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She whipped around with clenched fists. “I’m doing my best, okay? I’ve never done this before, since stupid Sasato won’t teach me advanced moves.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang put up his hands. “Hey, anything you’ve got is fine. As long as we survive.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>working</span>
  </em>
  <span> on it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang watched nervously as the metal ship approached. On the ice in front of him, Hama was muttering to herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let the energy of the water flow with your own. Let the energy of the water flow with your own. Let the energy of the water--what does that even mean? Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t feel my energy sloshing around inside of me.” Another wave arose and crashed back into the sea, rocking the ice sheet they stood on. Aang climbed down from Appa’s back and placed a hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got this, Hama. You’re a great waterbender. I know it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama took a deep breath and raised her arms once more. This time, the water in front of them froze into an opaque layer of ice between them and the ship. She grinned. Aang summoned a breeze to push them up against a large iceberg, leaving them surrounded on all sides by walls of ice. He heard a horn on the Fire Nation ship being blown, but couldn’t see anything beyond the walls. He hoped that meant the ship couldn’t see them either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama drummed her fingers against the side of the iceberg. “Now we wait. And hopefully, the Fire Nation will go right past us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang listened to the rumble of the ship’s engine. It was getting closer, faster than any ship he had ever seen. “This is crazy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know. I wasn’t expecting the war to get this close to home already. Do you think they’re on their way to attack my town?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Slow down, slow down.” Aang sat down with his back against the iceberg. “What’s all this about war and invasion? Is there something going on that I haven’t heard about?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah. The Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom have been at war for ages. So far, the Water Tribe has stayed neutral, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time before we were attacked too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This doesn’t make any sense. I mean, how haven’t I heard of this? The air temples aren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> isolated.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, they are. Until I met you, I wasn’t sure if you guys even existed anymore. Nobody’s seen an airbender in forty years.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Forty </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Aang stood up and began to pace, the enclosed area seeming smaller and smaller each time he crossed it. “That doesn’t make any sense. Monks left the Air Temple all the time--to visit other nations, buy supplies--my best friends were from the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation! Are you telling me Bumi and Kuzon are at war?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama shook her head, her eyes beginning to widen. “No, Aang,” she said. “I think you were in that iceberg for forty years.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Impossible</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“That’s impossible.” The airbender boy was pacing faster now, rocking the icy floor and making Hama slightly sick. He gave a laugh that sounded rather forced. “I mean, do I look like a fifty-two year old man?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama shrugged. It was baffling to her, too--how could someone stay the same age while trapped in an iceberg for forty years? How could someone stay </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive</span>
  </em>
  <span>? “It’s the only explanation,” she said finally. “You don’t know about the war, the Fire Nation’s new technology, or the disappearance of the Air Nomads--all things that happened in the last forty years. Somehow, you’ve been in there the whole time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang’s eyes widened. He sank to the floor, head between his hands. “I can’t believe it…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama yelped as the floor rocked violently beneath her feet. Aang struggled to stand, wave after wave churning the water beneath them. The rumble of the Fire Nation ship’s engine was overpowering. “They’re passing by. Don’t make a sound,” she whispered to Aang. He nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few tense moments passed. Once the rocking caused by the ship’s wake had sufficiently died down, Hama performed a melting motion. She’d meant to only create a small window, to see how far away the ship was, but the entire wall came down--plus a good portion of the nearby iceberg. Luckily, the ship was half a mile away and partially obscured by yet more icebergs. They hadn’t been spotted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All right.” Hama climbed onto Appa’s back and surveyed the surrounding area. “There’s a village to the east of my town. The sun’s in the west right now, so we’re going that way.” She pointed away from the sun. “I think I see some smoke. Come on, it can’t be far.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You saw a Fire Nation ship heading for your town and you </span>
  <em>
    <span>still </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to run away?” Something in Aang’s voice made Hama turn to look at him. “They might annoy you sometimes, but your people love you, Hama. I’m sure they’re worried sick waiting for you to return. You said you were running off because of your teacher--but what about your family and friends? Won’t you be hurting them?” Hama thought of her mother, sitting in front of the fire and stirring a pot of sea prunes. She sat down and drew her knees to her chest. Aang flew up and landed beside her, then poked her playfully in the shoulder. “And I’m sure Sasato will teach you anything you like once you save the town by warning them of this invasion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span>Hama stood up. “The </span>
  <em>
    <span>invasion.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Something more than her pride was at stake here. The Fire Nation was about to attack her town. She melted the ice around Appa’s legs, allowing him to move freely again. “Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Delay</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Any sign of him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh turned around. He had been staring through the telescope for so long that his fingers had gone numb and he hadn’t even noticed. Admiral Shang smiled sympathetically and took it from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid not,” said Iroh as the admiral adjusted the focus. “It would seem he just… disappeared.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shang frowned. “He’s probably in the Water Tribe town by now. They could be making plans to attack us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This was supposed to be a surprise attack. Everything could be ruined if they were warned--and they have the Avatar on their side.” Iroh thought back to his father’s face, half-hidden behind a screen of flame. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Defeat the Water Tribe before the next full moon, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Azulon had said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Do not disappoint me, my son.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He glanced up at the setting sun. “When’s the full moon?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tonight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh lowered his head into his hands. “The sun sets in two hours. It’ll take us half that time even to get there. And if the battle hasn’t ended by the time the full moon rises--” he broke off. He had never even seen a waterbender. None of the soldiers had. And now they were expected to fight a whole town of them at the height of their power?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are we doing? It’s your call, Prince Iroh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh brought himself back to reality. “Weigh anchor for the night,” he said. “We’ll attack the Water Tribe in the morning.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Welcome to the Water Tribe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The sun had set by the time Aang and Hama arrived in the Water Tribe town. He didn’t recognize it at first: one more mass of white in the undulating landscape, full of snowdrifts and icy mountains that seemed to go on forever. But Hama cried, “There it is!” and began to run, surprisingly fast in the knee-deep snow. Aang reluctantly picked up the pace as well. He may have been able to warm himself by airbending, but he could do nothing for the snow that filled his shoes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they got closer, Aang realized that he could see nothing of the town beyond its walls. They were made entirely of ice, easily twice the height of the average Air Temple building and several feet thick. Tall watchtowers were placed at strategic intervals, and between two of them was an opening. A tall young man guarding it leveled a spear at them as they approached. “Halt!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama laughed. “It’s just me, Minuk.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hama!” The man rushed forward and swept her into a hug. “I heard you disappeared. We were all so worried--the elders were about to send out a search party.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She squirmed out of his embrace. “Well, I’m here. And I need to talk to the elders. Now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now wait a minute, you haven’t introduced me to your friend,” he said, leaning against his spear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama groaned. “Minuk, meet Aang. He’s an airbender. Aang, meet Minuk. He’s my cousin, unfortunately.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi!” said Aang with a cheerful wave. He tried to lean past Minuk to get a glimpse into the town, but the Water Tribe warrior grabbed him by the shoulders. “Wow, a real airbender! Are you sure?” He poked Aang’s forehead a few times, as if expecting the blue arrow to rub off on his finger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Fire Nation won’t wait for you to finish yapping. They could be attacking any second, so we </span>
  <em>
    <span>need to talk to the elders right now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Hama made a massive ice spike rise underneath her cousin, leaving him hanging by the hood of his parka ten feet above the ground. Then she grabbed Aang’s hand and pulled him inside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, your waterbending’s gotten pretty good!” Minuk called after them. Appa growled good-naturedly and began to lick the icicle on which he hung. “Wait a second, did you say the Fire Nation?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama rolled her eyes and marched through the gate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she hauled him through the main street of the Water Tribe town, Aang tried to get a glimpse of his surroundings. Much like the landscape he had been travelling through, the only colors were white and blue--a far cry from the vibrance of the Air Temple. Most buildings were dome-shaped and constructed of blocks of ice, and the largest one was at the center of town. A small crowd was gathered around the entrance, which Hama pushed through impatiently. A few exclaimed at her presence, but she ignored them. Still gripping Aang’s wrist, she shoved aside the animal-skin curtain over the entrance and marched inside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The light of the full moon entered the igloo from a hole at the top and bounced off of the icy surface of the domed roof, making the interior of the igloo as light as day. Five elders sat around a table in the center, one of them in the middle of addressing a group of men. Everyone looked up as Aang and Hama entered. The elder closest to them stood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hama! What a pleasant surprise. You got here in the nick of time--the search party was about to leave.” She gestured to the assembled men.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama smiled at her. “Hello, Elder Akaa.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The tiny woman at the other end of the table stood too. Her face was locked in a permanent, wrinkled scowl. She leveled a shaking finger at Hama.  “What the hell did you think you were doing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama’s smile vanished. “Hello, Grandmother.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This has got to be the stupidest thing you’ve ever done in your little life, and that’s saying something. I can’t believe we were going to risk an entire division of soldiers on a disobedient brat like you. If I’d had my way, we would’ve left you out there to find your own way back or freeze.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama flinched. Aang squeezed her hand, and with the other he pointed right back at her grandmother. “Hey, you should all be </span>
  <em>
    <span>thanking </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hama right now. She was planning on running away, but she came back because your town is in danger. Plus, she saved my life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And who are you, exactly?” asked the man seated at the head of the table. Hama swiftly cut in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Elder Tirik, this is Aang of the Air Temple. Aang, Elder Tirik of the Southern Water Tribe.” She leaned in and whispered to Aang, “Formal introductions are kind of a big thing here. Leave them to me.” He nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It has been many years since we have welcomed a guest from the Air Temple,” Tirik said, looking down his nose at Aang. “It would be an honor to host an airbender, if that is indeed what you are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A demonstration. Was that what they wanted? Aang’s mind was racing through the thirty-six airbending styles he had mastered, searching for one that would work indoors and would impress but not injure anyone, when he felt a sneeze come on. He must have caught a cold trekking through all that snow. “Aa--aa--</span>
  <em>
    <span>choo!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The blast of air that came out of his nose propelled him through the hole in the top of the igloo and high enough to see the entire town. He took in the view for a moment as he drifted downward--every inch of space inside the wall was crammed with igloos and skin tents, some house-sized and others barely large enough to fit a polar-bear dog--then landed on the igloo’s curved wall and slid down to the ground. The crowd around the entranceway wordlessly parted to allow him to pass through.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inside, the elders and warriors were all in various states of astonishment and disbelief. Elder Akaa’s hair was blown back from her face. Hama’s grandmother had nearly had her parka blown off. Elder Tirik was in the process of waterbending his spilled soup back into its bowl. Aang looked over at Hama, who was doubled over laughing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How was my demonstration?” he asked with a grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They loved it,” she said. Then she shook herself, and her look of hard-eyed resolve returned. “He’s proven he’s an airbender; now listen to what we have to say. The entire tribe is in danger.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Warriors and Waterbenders</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Well, that seemed to go well,” Aang said as the two left the elders’ lodge. The moon was high in the sky; they had been in there, explaining their sighting of the Fire Nation ship, for over two hours.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama shook her head. “You don’t know the elders,” she said. “They’ll be in there until morning, debating and shouting at each other and doing anything but making a proper plan. The Fire Nation will attack at dawn, and we’ll have squandered our only advantage.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Relax, Hama. Your tribe has plenty of warriors and waterbenders. They’ll fight them off.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Warriors and waterbenders. Right.” Hama thought of Minuk, leaning against his spear with a ridiculous grin on his face. Her waterbending class, trying and failing to melt a single iceberg. She didn’t particularly </span>
  <em>
    <span>like</span>
  </em>
  <span> any of them, but she certainly didn’t want them to die.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang yawned. “Well, if the Fire Nation is really going to attack at sunrise, we should probably get some sleep before then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama gestured behind her without turning around. “My parents’ lodge is right next to the elders’.  Big tiger-seal skin over the door. Can’t miss it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t coming?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got work to do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you tired?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Waterbenders are nocturnal. We rise with the moon.” Truth be told, Hama had never felt more energized in her life. She had always longed for a chance to prove herself as a fighter, and here it was. They could find the Fire Nation ship tonight, at the height of their power, and defeat them before they even reached the town. She just had to get other people on board.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All right, then.” Aang’s footsteps crunched in the snow as he walked away. She still did not turn around. She had work to do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>First on her list was Minuk. He was standing at attention by the town’s gate--evidently someone had helped him down from the ice spike she had made--facing out into the endless white. He turned around at the sound of her footsteps.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Hama! How’d your meeting with the elders go?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not great.” She sat down in the snow beside him. “Grandmother yelled at me. She said she didn’t want to send a search party after me--that she wanted me to find my own way back or freeze.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minuk put a hand on her shoulder. “That’s Grandmother for you. If it makes you feel any better, she didn’t mean it. Before you came back, she was just as worried as the rest of them. More, even. She probably just said all that because she was relieved to see you safe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s got a funny way of showing it,” said Hama with a snort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“True.” Minuk was silent for a moment. “How was the rest of the meeting? As I recall, you said something about a Fire Nation attack before you left me dangling on top of an enormous icicle.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. Sorry about that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay. Dad came by a few minutes later and melted it for me.” Minuk’s father Katto was the head of the town’s waterbending warrior corps, which Hama had been hoping to join since she was five. If she played her cards right with Minuk, she could get Katto and all of his men to help.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, the elders wouldn’t listen to me about the attack. They asked if I was sure the ship I saw was Fire Nation, if I was sure they were hostile, if it was possible they were just here for trade.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And are you? Sure, I mean.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama nodded. “I know what I saw, Minuk. There’s a Fire Navy warship in the South Pole, and it’s headed for our town.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I believe you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You do?” Hama’s heart leaped. She hadn’t been expecting it to be this easy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I’m sure the elders do too. They’ll come up with a good plan by morning. You should get some sleep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not what I meant!” Hama got to her feet and looked Minuk in the eye. “It took me two hours to convince the elders that I had even </span>
  <em>
    <span>seen</span>
  </em>
  <span> a warship. They wouldn’t listen to me, and now you won’t, either.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hama, calm down!” Without noticing, she had begun to shake the ice, and cracks had formed along the top of the wall. Hama forced herself to take a deep breath, and the ground stabilized.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just--the Fire Nation is going to attack, and the elders won’t do anything about it. If they do, it’ll be too little, too late. We need to take action now. To save our people.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you suggesting? That we disobey the elders’ orders?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Not really. I mean, they haven’t ordered anything--that’s the problem--so there’s nothing for us to disobey.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you want to go behind their backs.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, when you put it </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> way, it sounds bad--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It sounds that way because it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minuk, we need to do this. For our tribe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our tribe is held together by our connection to each other and our respect for our elders. If we lose that--what’s left to fight for?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not listening to me!” Hama felt tears rise in her eyes. She hated losing her temper like this--a good waterbender had an even keel and kept their emotions in check--but she couldn’t stop it. “Why can’t you see that I’m doing this for our people? If we don’t fight back--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hama.” Minuk put his hands on her shoulders. “I know you feel strongly about this, but nobody is going anywhere without the elders’ permission. That’s what it means to be a member of the Water Tribe.” He released her and picked his spear back up, then turned back to face the endless snowdrifts. “If I hear any more of this, I’m going to tell my father.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama stood there for a moment more, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say and Minuk refused to acknowledge her. Finally, she turned and plodded back into town.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was nearly at her parents’ lodge when she heard footsteps behind her. Despite what she had told Aang about waterbenders being nocturnal, the streets were empty this time of night, except for her and whoever this was. She looked over her shoulder to see Master Sasato.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She faced forward again and kept walking. “I’m going to fight tomorrow. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know.” This simple admission made Hama stop in her tracks. “You’re a young woman of indomitable spirit. Once you’ve set your mind to something, nobody can dissuade you. You want to be a warrior, and so you will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama had never heard Sasato speak like this. She turned around to face him. He held out his hand, which contained a small paper scroll--a waterbending scroll, Hama realized, like the ones she had seen the advanced class poring over. She took it and opened it, recognizing several forms she had seen Sasato use and several more she had never even heard of. He gestured towards the gate. “Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I saw you melt that iceberg today. You could accidentally destroy the town if you tried to waterbend in here.” Then he smiled. “Plus, outside we’ll have more room to practice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama rolled up the scroll, tucked it under her arm, and followed him out.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Attack</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Iroh woke up an hour before dawn. He didn’t know how long it would take to subdue the Water Tribe town, so he wanted to have as much time as possible to do it--and that meant arriving as soon as the scales tipped in the firebenders’ favor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He ordered the helmsman to set their course for the town, and the soldiers to begin preparing for battle. A few of them grumbled about the early hour, but they stopped when they realized he was listening. After making sure they were ready, he returned to his chambers for his own preparation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Spirit of the sun, give me success in battle today.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He exhaled, and the candle flames in front of him grew. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Grant me the strength to defeat the waterbenders and capture the Avatar.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He breathed in, and they became small again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Allow me to go back to my father with the pride of a job well done.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a knock on the door, and Admiral Shang entered. “We’re nearing the Water Tribe town, Prince Iroh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten minutes later, he stood on the bow of his ship as the town came into view. It wasn’t nearly as large as he was expecting--he had heard it was the biggest in the South Pole, but the entire town was only a little larger than the Fire Nation royal palace. The most formidable thing about it was the wall, and that was made out of ice: easily destroyed by a little fire. Iroh turned to the soldiers manning the trebuchets. “Begin the bombardment.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the walls fell, Iroh wondered how he was meant to be feeling. Joy? Pride? He hadn’t done anything, merely given an order, and the soldiers had merely lit some rocks on fire and let them fly. Didn’t you have to do something in order to feel proud? Iroh shook himself. There would be plenty of opportunity to show bravery and strength soon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The town’s waterbenders did their best to repair the wall, but it was melting faster than they could re-freeze it, and soon there was a large, undefended opening. Iroh looked at his soldiers, then back at the town. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Charge!"</span>
  </em>
  <span></span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sun was on their side, and with it the firebenders beat back the Water Tribe’s soldiers. Iroh watched from the corner of his eye as one of his men used a specially-designed net to trap a waterbender and haul him back to the ship. Azulon had ordered them to take as many waterbenders as possible alive.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Water Tribe was surrounded and rapidly losing the battle, but as they retreated closer and closer to the center of town, they fought with increasing viciousness. Two had positioned themselves by the entrance to the largest igloo. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That must be where they’re keeping the women and children,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Iroh realized. A glance at Shang showed him that he had realized this as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no desire to take innocent lives,” Iroh said to the admiral as they fought off a waterbender together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We must follow your father’s orders, Prince Iroh. Capture as many waterbenders as possible. That surely includes some women and children. And besides, we have yet to see the Avatar.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right. The Avatar. He looked around for the telltale orange of the airbender’s clothes, but all he saw was Water Tribe blue and Fire Nation red.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly his attention was drawn to the igloo’s entrance. A young girl was fighting her way through the warriors guarding it--not to get in, as the Fire Nation soldiers were, but to get out. As soon as they let her pass, she formed an enormous wall of ice that took out three of Iroh’s soldiers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See?” said Admiral Shang, nodding to her. “Women and children can waterbend. And, by the looks of it, some of them are quite good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl was advancing on Iroh and Shang. Iroh, still loath to attack a girl younger than himself, held up his hands. “We don’t need to fight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shang stared at him as if he had grown a second head. “All due respect, Prince, but yes, we absolutely do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Once my father learns that the Avatar has returned, capturing him will become his first priority,” Iroh muttered. Then he raised his voice and once again addressed the girl. “Where’s the Avatar? We know he’s been through here. Did he not stay behind to help you fight?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She lifted her hands, and several razor-sharp ice daggers rose up from the ground. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t have missed him. Short, bald, middle-aged man? Master of all four elements?” She did not respond. The ice daggers still hovered in the air, and he could tell she was a hair’s breadth from sending them all shooting towards him. He decided to try one last descriptor. “The last airbender?”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<span>The ice daggers melted and splashed to the ground. She gaped at him, seemingly oblivious to the battle being waged around her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Aang?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The Avatar and the Fire Prince</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Aang walked carefully through the crowd thronging the elders’ lodge. He almost couldn’t imagine that this was the same building he had been in last night: then, he had stood alone with Hama before the stern gazes of the elders, but now it was full to bursting with people, and so, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> loud. Women did their best to comfort screaming children. The elders shouted at each other, arguing over whose fault this was and what to do next. Outside, from the sound of it, the battle wasn’t going very well for the Water Tribe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama had just shoved her way through the men guarding the entrance. Aang was endeavoring to do the same, but they refused to let him pass.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stay inside. Our warriors will deal with the invaders.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can help them! I’m an airbender--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Listen, kid, we were tasked with keeping the elders, women, and children safe. You’re not from our tribe, but you’re still a child.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang groaned. He had spent months wanting to be treated like an ordinary kid instead of the Avatar--it was just his luck that now that someone was treating him like the child he was, he wanted the opposite. He glanced at the hole in the top of the igloo, wondering if he would be able to get up and out now that there were so many people around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then a flaming projectile punched through the wall, leaving a gaping hole the size of a baby sky-bison, and landed inches away from the elders’ table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang slammed his staff into the ground, creating a blast of air that knocked both men off their feet. He ran through the entrance, staff at the ready, and emerged in a town he barely recognized. The walls had been reduced to rubble, and most of the buildings had melted. The Fire Nation soldiers were attacking from all sides. The few Water Tribe warriors left had formed a thin ring around the elders’ lodge and were fighting tooth and nail to keep them from entering. In the center of the street, separate from the rest of the fight, Hama faced off against a firebender.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he ran towards her, Aang took in the firebender’s appearance. His armor was different from the rest of his army: the shoulderpiece was edged in gold, and his helmet had no faceplate, allowing Aang to see that he was only a few years older than himself. He skidded to a halt beside Hama.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Avatar?” asked the firebender incredulously. “You’re only a child.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang shrugged. “Well, you’re only a teenager.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am the crown prince of the Fire Nation. I have no personal quarrel with you, but your existence threatens my father and my country.” He aimed a fireball at Aang, who frantically extinguished it with his staff. He had never fought before--it wasn’t exactly part of standard Air Nomad training--and he certainly hadn’t fought a firebender. The Fire Prince sent two more blasts at him, which he was barely able to dodge. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, asshole!” Hama yelled. He glanced at her, and in that moment she turned the snow under his feet to slick ice. He stumbled back. She formed several more ice daggers, but before she could fire them, a soldier came up from behind and knocked her off her feet. While she was down, he threw a weighted net over her and began to drag her toward the ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aang!” she screamed, thrashing to get free.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hama!” He rushed toward her, but the prince aimed another fire blast at him, and in attempting to dodge, Aang slammed his head against the ground. The last thing he saw was a net about to cover him before his vision went black.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The Avatar Returns</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hama wriggled furiously inside the net. No matter which way she twisted, her arms were pinned too tightly to her sides to bend. She caught a glimpse of the Fire Nation ship she was being dragged towards, then immediately wished she hadn’t: at least half the waterbenders in her tribe were on the deck, stacked like dead tiger-seals after a particularly successful hunt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turned back towards the town just in time to see Aang get knocked over. A firebender approached him with a net. Hama redoubled her efforts to free herself. “No!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly everybody within ten feet of Aang was leveled by an enormous blast of air. He rose from the ground, his eyes and arrow tattoos glowing. It was the same blue light she had seen coming from the iceberg, Hama realized. The Fire Nation soldiers stumbled back as he took water from the ground, the sea, and the surviving buildings to form the largest water whip Hama had ever seen. With a sweep of his arms, he knocked them all into the ocean and split the ship cleanly in half from bow to stern. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The waterbenders who had not yet been captured ran over to free their comrades, and Hama felt someone cutting open her own net. She twisted around to see who it was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Careful, Hama. I don’t want to cut you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minuk!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiled through smeared war paint. Hama kicked her way out of the net and wrapped her arms around him. He winced, and she pulled back. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine. You should go check on your friend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama turned to see Aang close his eyes. The light from his tattoos faded and he dropped to the ground. She ran over and caught him. “That was incredible! How did you do that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He opened his eyes slowly, still leaning on her. “I… I don’t know. It just… happened.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sasato limped over, half-carried by a young warrior named Kanak. “That was some impressive bending, young man. But I was under the impression that you were an airbender.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s the Avatar,” said Hama. Both men drew back. “The only thing I don’t understand is--why didn’t you tell us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang let go of her and stood unsteadily on his feet. He looked at the ground. “Because… I never wanted to be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why? You get amazing power, an epic destiny--hell, do you know how excited I’d be if I were destined to defeat the Fire Nation? I hate those guys!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t get it. Being the Avatar is a lot of responsibility and pressure. I’m supposed to keep balance in the world, and, well…” he looked over at the wrecked Fire Nation ship. “I’ve been failing at that for the past forty years.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Responsibility and pressure. Hama had been begging her people to give her more responsibility for years, but had always been told no--</span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re too young, women don’t fight, go learn healing like a good little girl. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Well, now you’re back. And,” she added, taking his hand, “you don’t have to face all that pressure alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang smiled at her. “Really?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really. Now let’s go talk to the elders.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The elders’ lodge was one of the only buildings still standing, and so it was where the entire town took shelter. The few uninjured waterbenders were busy repairing the hole, while those who had been hurt were being treated by the healers. Mothers ran about rounding up their children, some of whom were crying while others sat stock-still--the battle had taken a toll on even the youngest members of the tribe. The elders still sat around their table. Elder Tirik stood when they approached.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, I hear you’re the Avatar.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang fidgeted with his sleeves. “Yes,” he said in a small voice. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would be angry, but you did just save our tribe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of which, how did you do that?” asked Elder Itka.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… I don’t know.” Aang stared at the ice beneath his feet and performed a melting motion--with rather sloppy form, Hama noted. Nothing happened. “I can’t do it anymore. Even when I was waterbending, it didn’t feel like me. It felt like someone else was doing it, and I was just watching.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t make any sense--” Itka began. Elder Akaa cut him off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Avatar surely has many strange and powerful abilities that we do not understand. Nobody at the South Pole has ever met an Avatar, and this one is only a child. We cannot expect him to know everything.” She gave Aang a kind smile and he stopped looking quite so terrified. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Thank you, Elder Akaa, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hama said silently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We must help him achieve his destiny in any way we can,” said Tirik. “That begins with mastering waterbending. I’m sure Master Sasato would be glad to take him on as a student.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sasato stepped forward. He had evidently been with a healer, as the worst of his burns had disappeared, but he still walked with a slight limp. “Unfortunately, it seems the Avatar has had no waterbending training. His technique was excellent during the battle, but just now it was… less than I’d expect from a five-year-old student of mine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang winced. Hama patted his arm. “He says things like that,” she whispered. “You’ll get used to it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He needs more instruction. I suggest that Hama catch him up on the basics, and then have him join the rest of the class when he’s ready.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about Hama’s training? It sounds like she’ll miss a lot of her lessons,” said Akaa.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m not worried about Hama falling behind,” Sasato replied with a smile. “In fact, once she’s done teaching the Avatar, I think she’s ready to join the advanced class.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama gasped, but her excitement was cut short by her grandmother. “Absolutely not! It’s bad enough that you’re teaching women waterbending. I will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> allow you to take my granddaughter out there, surrounded by older boys from other villages, and have her </span>
  <em>
    <span>fighting</span>
  </em>
  <span> like some sort of--of--of warrior! It’s unladylike, and it would be a disgrace to the family.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sasato bowed in her direction. “Under most circumstances I would never contradict an elder. But Hama fought today with the courage of ten warriors, and I can personally attest to her waterbending power. Besides, this Fire Nation attack will not be the last. We will need as many skilled waterbenders as possible if the tribe is to survive.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Elder Tirik nodded. “At the moment, our greatest concern should be holding off the Fire Nation. If Master Sasato thinks she is ready, I think it would be best for our tribe that Hama join the advanced class.” He pulled a carved turtle-walrus tusk from his sleeve and placed it on the table. He was calling for a vote, Hama realized--most of the elders’ decisions were made unanimously, but when there was an irreconcilable disagreement, the majority ruled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaa immediately took out her own tusk and put it down beside Tirik’s. Elders Itka and Tarno glanced at each other, then did the same. Hama’s grandmother crossed her arms and scowled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” said Sasato. He bowed to Hama. “Masters don’t usually learn from their pupils, but you’ve taught me not to underestimate anybody, and it’s a lesson I shall keep in mind for the rest of my career. I’m sure the Avatar is as excited to have you for a teacher as I am to have you for a student.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama bowed back. She could barely restrain herself from running over and hugging the old master.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So when’s our first waterbending lesson, Sifu Hama?” asked Aang.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama yawned. She had barely gotten any sleep last night, and the adrenaline rush of battle could only keep her going for so long. “Tomorrow,” she decided. “I need to take a nap.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>In my mind, the turtle-walrus tusks the elders use to vote look like this: http://www.tribalcrafts.com/eicpg8a12a.html They're a real Inuit art form and they look cool as hell. Turtle-walruses aren't a real thing in ATLA, I just needed there to be something with tusks because I wanted to incorporate these so badly.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Fire Lord Azulon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“We’re nearing the capital, Prince Iroh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh nodded to the sailor and she scurried away. The people on this ship weren’t exactly used to having royal passengers, and the conditions were nowhere near the luxury he was used to, but it was better than nothing. Iroh thought back to the hours he had spent clinging to the wreckage of his ship in the frigid waters of the South Pole. Most of his men had drowned, but the few who survived had been picked up by a passing Fire Nation ship, whose captain had offered to take them back to the capital. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh leaned over the railing and squinted. He could just make out a thin line of land on the horizon. Admiral Shang approached and passed him a telescope. “Here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.” Iroh didn’t know what he would have done if Shang had been killed at the South Pole. He relied on the old man more than he cared to admit. His limp was more pronounced now, but at least he was still alive.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh twisted the telescope until he could see clearly. There, in the distance, were the cliffs bordering the Fire Nation shoreline, the small cluster of buildings by the harbor, and, rising above it, the massive cone of an extinct volcano: home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you most excited to see?” asked Shang. “Your bedroom? Your garden? Your father?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh didn’t answer. He didn’t have any particular attachment to his bedroom--it was just the place where he slept at night--and after having been gone so long, most of the plants in his garden were probably dead. As for his father--he didn’t want to think about meeting his father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, he had to think about it. As soon as Iroh got off the ship, several servants carrying a palanquin met him. “The Fire Lord requests your presence,” one of them said with a bow. Iroh sighed and climbed in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally, the trek up to the palace was far too long. Now, it was not long enough. Iroh’s mind raced searching for what to say to his father, but before he could think of anything, the palanquin-bearers deposited him in front of the palace doors. Iroh took a deep breath and pushed them open.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The throne room floor was empty. No servants, no other royals--Iroh was alone. Somehow the dozens of ornately-carved columns holding up the ceiling emphasized rather than alleviated that effect. The wall of flame in front of him completely obscured Azulon’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh knelt and touched his forehead to the floor. He waited for his father to speak first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Prince Iroh. I told you to go to the Southern Water Tribe and capture all of their waterbenders before the full moon, did I not?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh swallowed. He could feel his heartbeat in his knees. “You did.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now I hear that not only did you take longer than I ordered, </span>
  <em>
    <span>not only</span>
  </em>
  <span> did you fail to capture a single waterbender, but you also allowed your ship to be destroyed and most of your crew to be lost. Explain.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It would appear… It would appear the Water Tribe has the Avatar, Father.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Avatar?” The flames between them died down, allowing Iroh to get a clear look at his father for the first time. Azulon peered down at him.  He no longer looked angry, merely curious--Iroh hoped he would stay that way for the rest of their meeting. “Tell me everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh sat up. “First of all, he is very young. It would seem that in the forty years he has been missing, he has not aged a single day. I don’t know how this is possible, but it means good news for the Fire Nation: our greatest threat is just a child, and he appears to have only mastered airbending.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Azulon’s flames flared up again. “I believed the Avatar was a fully-grown master of all four elements. Are you telling me you and your men failed to subdue a single, twelve-year-old airbender?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh flinched. The anger was back. “I… I’m sorry. When we attempted to capture him, he suddenly became much more dangerous than before, and was even capable of waterbending.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what? You were sent to capture the tribe’s waterbenders. A single additional one should not have been any trouble.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the flickering light of his father’s wall of flames, the pillars on either side of Iroh seemed to close in on him. He fought the urge to retreat to the shadows, to hide behind the curtain as he had as a boy. “I am sorry, Father. I will not fail you again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good.” Azulon lowered the fire. “We will send our entire southern fleet to the South Pole. I want you to be at its head. Capture any waterbenders you see, kill anyone else who gets in the way, burn their city to the ground if necessary. But at all costs, you must bring me the Avatar. He will not escape us this time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh nodded and stood. “I will begin making preparations now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His first mission after leaving the throne room was to send messenger hawks to all the commanders in the southern fleet. He had been hoping to finally sleep in his own bed and eat a decent meal, but duty came first, especially if it was a direct order from his father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>There are over seventy ships in the southern fleet,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Iroh realized as he wrote letter after letter. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We couldn’t possibly need that many to conquer a single town. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He pictured the Water Tribe town, its walls crumbled, its warriors fighting desperately to protect their women and children. He remembered the young waterbender girl--Hama, the Avatar had called her--joining the fray even when her people were hopelessly outnumbered. Over and over, he replayed in his mind how she and the Avatar had recklessly thrown themselves into danger for each other, despite having only known each other for a day at most.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh couldn’t even imagine having a friend like that. He had never really associated with other boys his age. The only person outside of his family he had ever been remotely close with was Admiral Shang, and he was just an advisor--albeit one whom he sought out on matters outside of the war room. As a child, Iroh had begged his parents for a little brother, but one had never materialized, and now he was old enough that even if he got one, they likely wouldn’t be that close. But the airbender boy and the waterbender girl had seemed to mesh perfectly together, and more than that, they had </span>
  <em>
    <span>cared </span>
  </em>
  <span>about each other in a way that Iroh could not imagine anybody caring about him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Prince Iroh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh jumped. A servant was standing at the door. She bowed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fire Lord Azulon sends his best wishes for your attack on the Water Tribe, Your Highness. Your ship is ready in the harbor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Your Highness.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh stood with a grunt. Sitting in a chair for the first time in weeks had made him realize how sore his legs had truly been. He had been expecting to leave after a few weeks of rest--to stay the night at least--but, as always, his father wasted no time. He walked out of the palace, where a palanquin was already waiting to take him to the harbor.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. The Siege of the South: Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Aang and Hama stood on the water’s edge, about a hundred yards from the Water Tribe town. The sun had just come up over the horizon. Behind them, several waterbenders worked to rebuild the town’s wall.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“All right, student,” said Hama, pulling off her gloves, “let’s see what you’re capable of.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang cautiously approached the shoreline. The ice was thinner over here, and the water looked very, very cold. He reached out and flexed his fingers, then realized he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to be doing. “Could you maybe…. Demonstrate?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” said Hama. “This is the simplest waterbending form, and the first one that every child learns. It’s what the first waterbender, the moon, does every day.” She rocked back and forth, pulling a wave up and pushing it back into the water with every step. “The key is in the wrist movement.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang began to copy her, and on his second try, the water was moving with him. He had never bent an element other than air, but this came almost as naturally to him. He could feel the energy moving along his chi paths, and he focused on allowing the water to move with it. Waterbending was less about forcing the water to conform to your will, he realized, and more about giving its flow direction by aligning it with your own energy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He heard a splash next to him. Hama had let her water fall back into the ocean. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did I do something wrong?” he asked, then realized she was no longer beside him. Three sailboats were moored in front of the town, and Hama was talking to someone on board one of them. Aang approached. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aang, this is my uncle Katto,” she said, gesturing to the man. He bowed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It is an honor to meet you, Avatar Aang. I only wish I could stay with you longer.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Katto and some of the other warriors are going to the North Pole,” Hama clarified in response to Aang’s confused expression.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The elders believe we should rekindle our connection with our sister tribe. Now that the Fire Nation has attacked us and the Avatar is back, we need to prepare for war, and that means gathering as many allies as we can.” Katto grabbed a coil of rope from another warrior and placed it on the deck. “They’re only sending a small group--it’s a diplomatic mission, and we need all the warriors we can get to stay here in case the Fire Nation attacks again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Who else is going?” asked Hama. As if in reply, a blue-coated figure came running from the town gate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry I’m late!” he called. “Mom made me pack extra seal jerky. Hey, Hama. Hey, Avatar boy.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama stared at him. “Minuk! You’re going too?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aww, don’t look so sad,” he said, ruffling her hair. “I’ll only be gone for a few weeks. Once I get back, I expect you to be a pro waterbender. Congrats on getting into the advanced class, by the way.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks.” Hama took off her embroidered cap and stuck it on his head. “For good luck.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He grinned. “I never knew you could be so sentimental.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t get used to it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama hugged him, grasped Katto’s arm (he was too high up for a proper hug), and went and exchanged parting words with a few other warriors Aang didn’t know. The men hoisted the sails and pushed off. Minuk waved from the back of his ship.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Bye, Hama,” he called. His voice was faint but carried by the wind. “Teach the Avatar real good, will you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama watched the ships until they were tiny dots on the horizon, then sat down on the ice and buried her head in her arms. Aang sat next to her. “Are you worried about them?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She lifted her head to nod, and Aang was surprised to see the tracks of tears on her face. “It’s so dangerous out there,” she said. The words caught in her throat, but she coughed and kept speaking. “Nobody’s left the South Pole in decades, we don’t know what it’s like, but we do know the Fire Nation has ships everywhere. What if they don’t make it to the North Pole?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He put a hand on her shoulder. “They’ll be fine. They’re all great waterbenders, right? And water puts out fire. I’m sure they’ll be more than a match for any firebenders they meet along the way.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama shook her head, then buried it back in the sleeves of her parka. Her voice was muffled. “Katto is the only waterbender on that team. The rest must have stayed behind to defend the town. The others are nonbenders--all they have to defend themselves are spears and boomerangs.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang thought for a moment. He had no reply to that. Finally, he stood and tugged on her elbow. “Hey, I know what’ll cheer you up: a ride on Appa.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two found Appa sleeping in a cave south of town. He had been too large to fit through the gate, so a warrior had offered to take him to some shelter when they first arrived; evidently, he had slept through the entire Fire Nation attack. Aang didn’t blame him. He had been pretty wiped too--which was funny, considering they had both been asleep for forty years. Hopefully by now, though, the flying bison was rested enough to actually fly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hop on!” Aang called as Appa lumbered out of the cave. He flew to the front of the saddle. Hama formed a staircase out of ice, climbed up it, and then made it melt once she was safely on top. “Nice,” he said admiringly. “You’ll have to teach me to do that one of these days.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Speaking of teaching you, isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing right now?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang shook his head. “We can train later. Right now, you’re sad and I need to cheer you up. Yip-yip!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama gasped and clung to the side of the saddle as Appa took off into the air. They circled around the town once, then set off over the open ocean.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You travel like this all the time?” she yelled over the whipping of the wind. She still didn’t let go of the saddle. Aang scooted closer so he could talk at a normal volume.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You get used to it. It’s not so scary when you’re an airbender. Watch!” Aang jumped off of Appa’s back, fell several feet, then opened his glider and flew back up. Hama was still clinging to the saddle, but she laughed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you can’t expect me to be completely unafraid. I’m not an airbender like you, Aang.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s true.” Aang paused. “Hey, why are you the only person in your tribe who calls me by my name? Everyone else calls me Avatar, or Avatar Aang, or Avatar boy, or something like that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe because you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Avatar?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess so.” Aang shrugged. “It’s all so new, though. Suddenly I’m supposed to defeat the Fire Nation and save the day, but… until a few months ago, I was just an ordinary kid.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You mean until forty years ago.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang nodded. He kept forgetting that. “I guess what I mean is… it’s a lot of pressure. Everyone expects me to be able to do things that I just… don’t know if I can do. I mean, I was raised by pacifist monks--fighting doesn't exactly come naturally to me. But nobody understands that. To them, I'm some legendary warrior who can solve all their problems. You’re the only person who treats me like a normal kid.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama leaned back. “It’s funny, I’ve always wanted the opposite. When I was little, all I wanted to do was fight, but nobody would let me. I’d refuse to go to healing lessons and spend all day by the shore, trying to copy what I’d seen the warriors do, but I didn’t get any real training until last year. Most waterbenders start when they’re seven, but Sasato wouldn’t teach me and my parents didn’t understand why I didn’t want to learn healing. Minuk was the only one who supported me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Your cousin?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded. “Neither of us have any siblings, so growing up, he was like my big brother. Everything he did, I copied, so when he started warrior training, I wanted to join too. He never told me he couldn’t because I was a girl--he just told me that his class was for nonbenders, and I had a special gift. He used to come out and watch me waterbend, try and give me tips. They were never all that helpful, and he usually just talked my ear off about whatever had happened in warrior training that day, so I ignored him. But he’s the reason I kept trying, and as soon as the elders opened the waterbending class to girls, he practically marched me to their lodge to make me sign up.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He must be really proud you got into the advanced class, then.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s the only one who is. Grandmother was the only one who spoke out about it, but I saw a lot of other people grumbling, especially members of my family.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why is it such a big deal? I mean, you were already in the normal class. All you’re doing is going up a level.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama shook her head. “Every village has their own waterbenders and healers, who teach the basics of the art to all the waterbending children there. But if a boy wants to learn more, he has to move to our town and join Sasato’s advanced class. In the Water Tribe, it isn’t proper for a girl to be surrounded by boys, especially if they’re not from her family and </span>
  <em>
    <span>especially </span>
  </em>
  <span>especially if they come from other villages.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s stupid.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Try telling my people that. They’re very big on tradition.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A spot of black danced in front of Aang’s vision. He blinked, thinking it was just a floater, but it was joined by more. Particles of soot were falling like snow from the enormous black cloud that loomed overhead.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang turned to look at Hama. They both spoke at once. “The Fire Nation.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. The Siege of the South: Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Where have you </span>
  <em>
    <span>been?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>demanded Kanak, who was on gate-guarding duty that day. Hama shoved past him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No time. The Fire Nation is attacking again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kanak’s eyes widened. He turned and ran down the street toward the elders’ lodge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first time Hama and Aang had come warning of a Fire Nation attack, they hadn’t been taken seriously, but now the Water Tribe had seen what they could do. Soon the streets were filled with panicked people. Elder Itka stood at the entrance to the elders’ lodge and blew into the arctic yak horn that summoned the entire tribe in case of an emergency. Silence fell upon the town as everyone filed inside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have received news of another Fire Nation attack,” said Elder Tirik once everybody was seated. He gestured to Hama.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“While riding on his sky bison, Aang and I saw an enormous fleet of Fire Nation ships heading our way. There must have been at least seventy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why were you riding the Avatar’s bison?” interrupted Itka. “You were supposed to be training him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We don’t have time to talk about that,” Hama snapped. Then she took a deep breath. She could not lose control now, not when her home was on the line. “They’ll be here within an hour. We need to do something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tirik shook his head gravely. “We were barely able to defeat a single ship yesterday. We don’t stand a chance against seventy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you want us to do? Lie down and do nothing?” Despite herself, Hama felt tears of frustration fill her eyes. Once again, the Fire Nation was attacking her people, and once again, she was powerless to stop them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Fire Nation is looking for our waterbenders. The men must stay and fight, but we should send the women and children with waterbending power to the outlying villages. Hopefully, they won’t look there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Hama turned to see who had spoken and was astonished to see Mika get to her feet. “I can’t sit by and watch my home get destroyed. Not again. I’m going to stay behind and fight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sasato shook his head. “That is most unwise. You have barely mastered the most basic forms of waterbending.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mika formed a water whip and smacked him in the face with it. He stared at her, stunned. “I’ve been practicing,” she said. “If you want me to leave, you’ll have to make me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And me,” said a boy from a nearby village that Hama recognized as being in the advanced class. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And me,” said Vasuk, the second-best student in Hama’s own class. Other women and children began to stand as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine, fine.” Tirik held up his hands for silence. “Anyone who wishes to stay may do so. But you will be putting yourself in grave danger.” He was met by a sea of solemn nods.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It should be fairly obvious that the same goes for us,” said Hama. Beside her, Aang nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Sasato walked over to them. “I am sure the Fire Lord is only sending this many ships to our humble town because he knows the Avatar is with us. If we allow him to be captured, all is lost.” He looked directly at Aang. “You must take your flying bison and hide until the battle is over. Hopefully, after the battle, there will be a town for you to return to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang grabbed Hama’s arm. “I’m not leaving Hama. “</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sasato nodded. “On that we agree. Hama, you must go with him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama stared at him. “You can’t be serious.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No matter what happens to the rest of us, the Avatar still needs a waterbending teacher. If he doesn’t master all four elements, he will never defeat the Fire Nation. The fate of the entire world hangs in the balance.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She crossed her arms. “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>leaving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>boom </span>
  </em>
  <span>and the ice beneath their feet shook. A man near the door stuck his head out and his face went pale. “They’re here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The people of the Southern Water Tribe filed outside. The youngest children and a few women remained in the igloo, but everyone else prepared to fight--Hama even saw Elder Akaa pick up a spear. Enormous metal ships crowded the sea and the sky was black with smoke. The flagship launched another fireball, which slammed into the ground only a few feet from the elders’ lodge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A signal was given from the flagship and soldiers poured onto the ice. They easily melted the ice wall, and soon the warriors and soldiers were fighting brutally in the streets of the town. Hama saw Vasuk and Elder Tirik standing back-to-back, fighting off a ring of firebenders, until they were both overpowered and hauled back to one of the ships. A few yards away, a Fire Nation soldier unceremoniously stabbed a nonbender warrior with a spear--evidently they were only looking for waterbenders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama shifted into an attack position, but before she could bend, somebody grabbed her shoulder. She twisted around. It was Sasato. His other hand was clamped around Aang’s wrist. He dragged them toward the gate, where Appa was hidden under a pile of rubble from the wall. Sasato waterbent the ice fragments off with a sweep of his hands. “Get on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I already told you I wasn’t going. The tribe needs me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So does the Avatar. Being a Water Tribe warrior means knowing where you’re needed most, Hama.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you expect me to just abandon you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Sasato put a hand on her shoulder and looked directly into her eyes. “I won’t tell you we’ll be okay. I know you’re old enough to see through a lie like that. But the world needs you with the Avatar.” He placed a wooden box in her hands--the Southern Tribe’s entire collection of waterbending scrolls, she realized with a start. “It seems you won’t be able to join the advanced class, after all. I’m sorry. But hopefully these will help you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama tried not to think about what it meant that he was giving her the tribe’s entire waterbending legacy. She swiped at her eyes, trying to will the tears away. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I can’t cry. Not now.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want you to promise me one thing, Hama. I want you to get on that bison and fly far away, to somewhere you and the Avatar will be safe. No matter what happens, promise me you won’t turn back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sasato--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Promise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his parka. He patted her shoulder. “I promise,” she whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He drew back. “Go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Avatar!” yelled a Fire Nation soldier. Several others ran over. They were surrounded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sasato sent several well-aimed water blasts at the soldiers. “Go!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama clambered onto Appa’s back. “Yip-yip!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The flying bison rose into the air. Sasato looked up at them for a moment, and a soldier took the opportunity to throw a net over him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sasato!” Hama screamed, leaning over the side of the saddle. The soldier pulled the net toward the shoreline. Already there were dozens of waterbenders on the deck of the Fire Nation flagship, and the Fire Prince in his gold-edged armor was surveying them with pride. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No matter what happens, promise me you won’t turn back.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Hama drew her knees to her chest and watched as her home faded into the distance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but at some point she realized that the land had disappeared and they were flying over open ocean. “Where are we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang turned around. He was seated on Appa’s head, his hands on the reins. “I wanted to go somewhere the Fire Nation wouldn’t expect us to go, so I headed north.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re on the South Pole. Everywhere is north.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Aang shrugged. “Well, I’m pretty sure we’re headed in the same direction the Fire Nation came from.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll need more than </span>
  <em>
    <span>pretty sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>to get to safety.” Hama leaned over the saddle’s edge and looked around, but there was no land in sight. Then she spotted something in the water below. “Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” asked Aang. He followed her gaze and his eyes widened. He brought Appa down to the surface of the water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Floating in the waves was the wreckage of three Water Tribe ships.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. No, no, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hama climbed down from Appa’s back and made an ice raft for herself to stand on. She stared at the splintered masts, the tattered blue sails, the broken spears. Much of the wood bore scorch marks--the Fire Nation. Her tribe’s men must have run into their fleet. They had been hopelessly outmatched, but Hama knew they had fought bravely until the last man standing. That was the Water Tribe way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small cloth item washed up on her ice raft. Hama stooped to pick it up and immediately recognized it. Her blue embroidered cap, the one her mother had made her for her seventh birthday, the one she had put on every day since, the one she had, that very morning, given to Minuk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama screamed and threw the cap into the water. It sank for a few moments before rising to the surface again. She sent an ice dagger flying at it, but still, it refused to stay down. She formed another ice dagger. Hama wanted that cap out of her sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few minutes and several dozen daggers, Hama felt her ice begin to melt. Soon, instead of solid ice, she was sending concentrated blasts of water, then weak streams that barely even rippled the surface, then pathetic little squirts. Finally she crumpled to the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang slid off of Appa and landed beside her, rocking the ice raft. He put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook her head. “Don’t even try.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have to.” Aang sat down. “I don’t know what to say to you that will make this better. But I can’t just let you sit here all alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama stared out at the wreckage. She’d cried when Katto and Minuk left, but there were no tears now--only anger and emptiness. Her ice raft rocked on the waves as the wind picked up. She could feel the water moving around and under her, but had no energy to bend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang stood and created a wave that lapped up onto the raft. Hama felt the freezing water touch her, but didn’t move. It was only after the wave had retreated that she realized her cap had washed up next to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’d want you to keep it,” Aang said as he climbed onto Appa’s back. After a moment, Hama picked up the cap and followed him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They rose into the air, leaving behind the wreckage floating below. In the distance, she could see a pillar of smoke rising from the direction of her town. Hama rubbed the familiar embroidery between her fingers. She had never felt so alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Appa knows the way to the Air Temple. We’ll be safe there.” Aang patted the sky bison’s side. “Man, I haven’t been home in forty years. All my friends are adults now. That’ll be weird, won’t it?”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>this chapter was so hard to write and the next one is gonna be even worse, i hate hurting my babies :(</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Iroh's Garden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry it's been so long since I've updated! I got halfway through the Southern Air Temple before I realized I needed a chapter from Iroh's POV. I hope this sheds more light on Iroh's character--I know he's the one I focus the least on.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Southern Tribe’s waterbenders marched off of the ship. Their hands were tightly bound behind their backs, and they were surrounded by imperial firebenders, but Iroh was still on his guard. He had seen what a waterbender was capable of, and he was not anxious to see it again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The waterbenders walked onto the waiting prison wagons. They were being taken to Gan Long Prison, he knew, the safest place in the world to keep a waterbender: it was on the side of a volcano, where the air was hot and dry, far from any sources of water. There was no escaping. Even better, they had every waterbender in the Southern Tribe--except, Iroh realized as he surveyed the line, for the young girl who had fought alongside the Avatar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Avatar. That was a problem too. Somehow, he had gotten away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Fire Lord wants to speak with you, Prince Iroh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh jumped. Somehow, Admiral Shang had snuck up on him again, despite his limp. He straightened. “Yes, of course. I’ll go to him right away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As tired as he was, Iroh didn’t bother with a palanquin this time around. It was much faster to walk up the road to the caldera city, and he waved away anyone who offered to fetch one. As before, he bowed to his father on entering the throne room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Prince Iroh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did as you ordered, Father. I led the entire southern fleet to the South Pole.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Southern Water Tribe is defeated. Every single waterbender is currently on their way to Gan Long prison.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh held his breath. He didn’t know why he had lied to his father about capturing every Southern Tribe waterbender, but he knew he was in for it if he ever found out. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There’s no way. None of the soldiers were paying attention to who was in the first battle. They don’t know about the girl.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And the Avatar?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh bit his lip. He had been hoping his father had forgotten about the Avatar, but, of course, Azulon never forgot. He tried to swallow, but his mouth had gone dry. “The Avatar escaped.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The wall of flames in front of the Fire Lord grew to twice their original height. Iroh gasped as his father made the fire spill out onto the floor and into a circle around him. The flames licked dangerously close to his face, which was still touching the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Avatar has escaped your grasp once before, Prince Iroh. I grow weary of tolerating your failure. How many more times are you going to disappoint me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beads of sweat formed on Iroh’s forehead. He did not dare move for fear of being burned. “Never again, Father. Please, forgive me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The flames around him went out with a hiss. There were black scorch marks on the floor--an inch closer, and his clothes would have caught alight. Azulon turned around in his seat. “Get out of my sight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh turned and ran.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What right does he have to treat me like that? I eliminated an entire nation’s worth of benders in a single day. He gave me two impossible tasks, and now he’s angry that I managed to accomplish one. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Iroh forced himself to stop and breathe. He had been storming through the palace hallway for several minutes, terrifying passing servants and court members, and he had no idea where he was going. As he regained his breath, he berated himself in his mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Father is the Fire Lord. He wants what is best for our nation. And I am his son. Is it not right that he would have high expectations for me?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh made his way out to his garden. Working there, while not exactly suitable for a prince, had always helped him calm down. The palace gardeners were under strict orders not to touch it. This was usually a good thing, since Iroh’s plants weren’t nearly as pretty as the rest of the garden, and would probably have been pulled up long ago if he wasn’t the prince--but now he wished he had left someone in charge of watering them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was shocked to see that, while not exactly in excellent shape, his plants were still green. His poor thirsty irises were on death’s door, and there were a few clumsy footprints in the dirt, but the garden was alive. Iroh pushed open the gate. On the other side of his tulsi bush, someone was whistling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A watering can clattered to the ground. “Oh!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a young girl’s voice, one that Iroh didn’t recognize--probably someone hired only recently to help with the increased volume of work that the spring brought on. She scurried out from behind the bush, and he was surprised to see that she couldn’t have been older than nine or ten. When she saw Iroh, her face went white and she dropped to her knees. “I’m so sorry, Prince Iroh! I didn’t mean to intrude on your private garden--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s all right.” Iroh offered her a hand and helped her back up. “Are you the one who’s been watering my flowers while I’ve been away?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded. He could tell she still expected him to shout at or hit her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m very grateful. I had to leave in such a hurry I completely forgot to ask someone. Next time I need to go somewhere, I’ll ask you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was still staring at him. He realized how unusual that must have sounded--members of the royal family didn’t ask, they told.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But if you’re going to take care of these plants, you’ll need to know how.” He picked up the tin watering can she had dropped and began to water the irises. “Irises are very thirsty--I usually water mine every day. Jasmine, on the other hand, needs less water but a lot more sunlight. Have you ever had jasmine tea?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, it’s very good, if you make it right. You need to pick the flowers before they--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hinga!” The head gardener yelled. He walked over from the hedge whose pruning he had been supervising. “I’m sorry, Prince Iroh--Hinga, get over here </span>
  <em>
    <span>right now--</span>
  </em>
  <span>she won’t bother you again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After all Iroh’s attempts to make her feel comfortable, Hinga was trembling again and white as a sheet. She stood frozen on the garden path.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop annoying the prince and get back to work. Any damage you’ve done to the garden is coming out of your pay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh quickly stepped in front of her. “Oh, no, she hasn’t done any damage. I asked her to take care of my garden while I was in the South Pole, and she’s done a remarkable job.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I--I see.” The head gardener looked confused, but he wasn’t going to question a prince’s judgement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t want to burden anybody important with the task of watering a patch of medicinal herbs. But Hinga has proven herself well. In fact…” he looked down at the skinny little girl. “Whatever you’re paying her now, double it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… yes, Prince Iroh.” The gardener bowed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You may go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He bowed again and walked away. Once his back was turned, Iroh picked a sprig of jasmine and placed it behind Hinga’s ear. “Thank you for taking care of my garden. You should get back to whatever you’re supposed to be doing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was still staring at him, but now her eyes were full of joy instead of fear. She grabbed the jasmine twig and ran away, then turned around and bowed hurriedly. Iroh watched her leave with a smile. Being a prince did have its perks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was adding compost to his tulsi bush when Admiral Shang came over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Manual labor is unbecoming to a prince,” said the admiral. “If you want a particular flower or herb, you can simply order it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh set down his rake. “You’ve told me that more times than I can count, Admiral. Has it ever changed anything?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I suppose not.” Shang leaned against the fence. “But I still do not understand why you do it.  It’s hard, dirty work, no?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh ran his hand across the bush’s trunk. “It’s calming. I like it. Giving life to something raises my spirits when I’ve had a hard day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your father wasn’t happy to learn we didn’t catch the Avatar, was he?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Iroh could still feel the scorching heat of the flames and smell the burned floor polish. He crushed a tulsi leaf between his fingers and inhaled, trying to get that bitter scent out of his nose.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know he’s only hard on you because he knows you can do better.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are the Fire Prince. You have a responsibility to your nation and your father. The Avatar is a threat to them both.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, Prince Iroh. He won’t pose a threat to us much longer. We’ll capture him--I know we will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh nodded again but did not respond. Finally, Shang walked away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was watering the valerian with his back to the gate when he heard footsteps crunching on the gravel behind him. He groaned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Can’t everyone just leave me alone? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did not know you were interested in herbs, my son.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh was suddenly very glad he had not voiced his thoughts out loud. He turned around and bowed to his father, who was standing in the gate, looking somewhat out of place in his Firelord robes. “Yes, Father. I asked the head gardener for a plot of land several years ago, and he was kind enough to give me this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see.” Azulon turned and walked back toward the palace, then stopped and gestured impatiently for his son to follow. Iroh hurriedly set the watering can down and ran after him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“--A dangerous being, even when not yet fully realized,” his father was saying when he caught up. As usual, Azulon had not waited for him to arrive before he started talking. Iroh slowed to his father’s pace and regained his breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My father left behind a great deal of notes about the Avatar. They may help you when you fight him again,” the Fire Lord continued. He led Iroh to the royal library, where a scribe was laying several scrolls across the table. He bowed as they approached and retreated down a row of shelves. Azulon pointed to one of the scrolls, which contained an illustration of a Fire Nation Avatar with glowing eyes. “The Avatar is at his most dangerous in this state. He is connected to all of his past lives, and so wields power no other bender can possess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The glowing eyes--that’s what the airbender looked like during the battle at the South Pole. That must be why he was able to waterbend. But it doesn’t explain why he didn’t enter that state earlier. It wasn’t until he was nearly captured that he finally fought back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Only a fully realized Avatar can enter the Avatar State at will,” Azulon read. “Until then, it can only be triggered as a defense mechanism.” He put the scroll back down. “So, for now at least, when he enters and leaves the Avatar State is unpredictable. For both us and him. We can use that to our advantage.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This is how a Fire Lord and Fire Prince should act,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Iroh thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Just the two of us, working together to solve a problem and protect our nation. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He knew his father would not apologize for the way he treated him that morning--a Fire Lord never apologized--but that was fine. Iroh understood why he had lashed out: the Fire Nation’s greatest threat was still out there, and Iroh had failed to defeat him. He promised himself he would not fail again. But first, he would make the most of this time with his father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Father?” Iroh asked. Azulon looked up from the scrolls. “How did Grandfather Sozin know so much about the Avatar?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azulon shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “He must have been a very dedicated student.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. The Southern Air Temple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You’ll love the Air Temple, Hama. It’s the most beautiful place on earth.” Aang paused for a moment, then laughed. “Of course, I am a little biased.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama didn’t answer.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wonder if I’ll recognize any of my old friends. I wonder if </span>
  <em>
    <span>they’ll </span>
  </em>
  <span>recognize </span>
  <em>
    <span>me.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He looked over at Hama, who was curled up at the edge of the saddle, clutching her cap between her fingers so hard they were white. “I’m sorry. I’m talking about reuniting with my people when you’ve just lost your own.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s okay,” she said quietly. “I’m glad you’re happy. Really.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t sound glad.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just… nobody’s seen an airbender in more than forty years. I don’t know if you’ll find what you’re looking for.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just because nobody’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>seen </span>
  </em>
  <span>an airbender doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Maybe they’re hiding. Maybe they left the rest of the world in protest of the Fire Nation’s war.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen, Hama, the monks will </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> you. Monk Gyatso was always telling me to meet as many benders of other elements as I could, because learning their styles would improve my own bending.” Monk Gyatso had been old forty years ago, Aang realized. If there were monks still living at the Air Temple, he probably wasn’t one of them. He hurriedly pushed the thought from his mind. “Anyway, women aren’t usually allowed in the temple, but I’m sure they’ll make an exception for you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama bristled. “You don’t let women learn airbending?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no! The nuns just have different temples. Airbender girls learn all the same stuff as boys, just at the Eastern and Western temples. The monks live in the north and south.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. I guess I wouldn’t mind that--learning bending from female teachers, never even having to meet men. I mean, before Sasato learned what a great waterbender I am, he was pretty insufferable.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But then you never would’ve met me,” Aang pouted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess so.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang glanced up and realized they were about to collide with a vertical rock face. This was his favorite part. “Hold on!” he yelled back to Hama, who frantically grabbed onto the saddle. Then he patted Appa’s side. “Yip-yip!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sky bison roared, and they went shooting straight up into the clouds. The elder monks used to chide him about this particular stunt--it was far too dangerous, coming that close to the mountainside--but Aang always did it anyway. The wind rushed in his ears, and he leaned into it with a laugh. He was really going home.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They soared through a layer of clouds and then came up on the other side. In front of them were the many blue-tiled towers of the Southern Air Temple, arrayed in all their glory. Aang grinned as he brought Appa to land on the pavilion. He slid off of his back and hit the ground with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>thud,</span>
  </em>
  <span> feeling the familiar tiles underneath his feet once again. Then he looked around.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The buildings around him were crumbling, some already rubble. The tiles beneath him, usually kept so meticulously clean, were covered in dust and choked with weeds. The open door of the childrens’ dormitory creaked back and forth in the wind. To him, it had only been a few days since the temple was filled with light and life--had it really been forty years?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang shook his head. It was impossible to get to an Air Temple unless you had a flying bison. Surely there were still airbenders alive, if not here, then somewhere in the world. He looked across the pavilion to where Hama stood. He couldn’t tell her how he felt--she had been through enough already.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Hama! Want to play airball?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“What’s that?” she asked, but he was already running toward the court. He picked up the hollow ball.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll figure it out. Watch!” He tossed the ball and sent it flying with a blast of wind. It bounced off of several wooden poles, then crashed through the opposite goalpost. “Point for me!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama climbed to the top of a pole on her side. “Oh, it is </span>
  <em>
    <span>on.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She melted some nearby snow and sent it through the slats in the ball, then froze it, forming a small core of ice. Then she bent the ice, and the ball along with it, straight at Aang. He caught it easily.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The point of this game isn’t to overwhelm your opponent with brute strength, Hama. You have to be clever about it, catch them when they aren’t looking. Like this!” While Aang was talking, he had been bending the ball quietly around the perimeter of the court, and now he sent it flying toward Hama from the side. She was barely able to deflect it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She caught onto airball remarkably quickly, he had to admit, though she stubbornly persisted in using her brute-force strategy. Aang realized, as they lobbed the ball back and forth, that he could easily be playing with one of his old friends--and that, for the first time since waking up from the iceberg, he was having fun. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He airbent the ball over Hama’s head. “No fair!” she yelled as she jumped to catch it, but before she could, he brought it down into the goal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aang two, Hama zero,” he crowed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama jumped down from her pole. “Whatever.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang got down as well and ran over to her. “What’s wrong?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing. Let’s go.” Hama turned and walked up the nearest staircase, which led up to the temple’s main tower. Aang followed her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At the top of the stairs was a wooden statue of Monk Gyatso. Aang ran over. “Hama, this is the monk I was telling you about. He taught me everything I know.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>Something Gyatso had said came back to him. </span><em><span>Your questions will be answered when you are old enough to enter the Air Temple Sanctuary.</span></em> <em><span>Inside you will meet someone who will guide you on your journey. </span></em><span>If there was anything Aang needed now, it was guidance. He started toward the temple doors.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” asked Hama.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The Air Temple Sanctuary. There’s someone I’m ready to meet.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Sanctuary door was as imposing as ever, though the paint was faded and the carvings were covered in dust. The monks had rarely gone inside, and he never had, but he recognized the locking mechanism: two trumpets connected to a series of twisting tubes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aang, there’s no way someone could have survived in there for forty years.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I survived in the iceberg for forty years.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You have a point.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang sent a blast of air through each trumpet. The mechanism clicked and the doors opened with a creak. The two walked into the dark room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello?” called Aang.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyone home?” Hama asked. A human form appeared from the darkness and she jumped back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re statues!” Aang made the doors open a little further and light spilled in, revealing a spiral of statues that began at the center of the room and extended for several stories above them. He walked through the crowd. From their clothing he could tell that they were all from different nations and eras, but something tugged at the back of his mind--these people were familiar to him somehow. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama formed an ice blade and brandished it at the statue that had startled her. “This one’s Fire Nation!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang ran over and pointed to the one next to it. “And this one’s an airbender, and that one’s Water Tribe, and that one’s Earth Kingdom. They’re ordered in the Avatar Cycle.” He examined the earthbender--an extremely tall woman in a flowing dress and metal headdress. He knew her, he was sure. An idea popped into his mind. “Hama, what if these are my past lives?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It could be. Maybe these were the people Monk Gyatso wanted you to meet.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe. He told me they would guide me, though. These statues are just standing here.” He turned to look at the firebender next to the earthbender, the last one in the line. This one he did know. “Avatar Roku.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Who..?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The Avatar before me. This is him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You were a </span>
  <em>
    <span>firebender?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The Avatar is born into every nation. It’s a cycle. Don’t you know?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve heard the legends, but…” Hama shrugged. “It’s hard to imagine you being from the same nation that destroyed my home.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Avatar Roku died more than fifty years ago. Before the war began.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang turned around. Though the sight of all of his past lives was fascinating, there wasn’t much wisdom to be gained from a bunch of silent statues. “Come on. There’s a whole temple to explore.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang led Hama on a whirlwind tour of the temple: where they ate, where they learned airbending, even the balcony from which he and Gyatso had thrown cakes at meditating monks. Finally, he took her back to where they started, the childrens’ dormitory right off the bison-landing pavilion. It stung a little bit to see the room he had once shared with three other boys now empty and desolate. He hoped wherever the others were now, they were happy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Appa growled as they walked back onto the pavilion. “I know, buddy,” Aang said, rubbing his nose. “I’m hungry too. There isn’t much food left here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then his attention was drawn to a small building further down the mountain. It was in even worse shape than the rest of the temple, with crumbling walls and a roof of cloth over rotting wooden beams. “Hey, here’s something I haven’t shown you!” he called to Hama.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is there anything important in there?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope, it’s just storage.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then maybe we should--” but Aang was already skidding down the hill.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t want you to get an incomplete tour,” he yelled over his shoulder. Truthfully, he was just looking for something that had remained untouched in the years since he’d left. The storage building, where they had kept the excess scrolls from the library, seemed like the most likely candidate. He pushed open the curtains.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His foot hit something metal. He looked down to see a helmet--just like the ones the Fire Nation troops had worn when they attacked Hama’s town. Aang took a step back. The floor was littered with Fire Nation helmets and uniforms, and in the corner of the room was--</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Monk Gyatso.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If the Fire Nation had made it here, they must have gotten to the other Air Temples too. The Fire Prince had called Aang the last airbender, and he had been right. In the forty years Aang had been gone, he had lost his home, his people, and his closest friend. He dropped to his knees.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dimly, Aang heard Hama’s footsteps behind him. “Oh, Aang, I’m so sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He did not respond. Something was happening, like what had happened during the first attack on the South Pole. He could feel his spirit detach from his body, as if somebody else were taking control, as he rose into the air. The wind rose around him, knocking the cloth roof off of the building and leveling the stone walls. He was at the eye of a hurricane.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the back of his mind, Aang could hear a woman’s voice, screaming for her people. He couldn’t assign a name to the voice--he hadn’t known many female airbenders--but somehow it was familiar to him. She was the one creating the storm, he realized, out of grief and horror and </span>
  <em>
    <span>anger, </span>
  </em>
  <span>an emotion alien to most airbenders. Her screams were incoherent, but their message carried just fine.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That voice was replaced by another, this one real, calling out to him from below. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aang!” Hama yelled above the wind. “I know how you’re feeling right now. I understand the pain and anger of losing the people you care about. But the world still needs you, Aang. My tribe needs you. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> need you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever had been holding onto him released, and the whipping winds died down. Aang lowered slowly to the ground, then collapsed, more tired than he’d ever been. Hama ran forward to catch him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m the last airbender,” he said. “But I won’t let there be a last waterbender.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She wrapped her arms tightly around him. “And if there is one, it’ll be me. Because I’ll never leave your side. We’ll end this war together. The Fire Nation will wish they never messed with the Air Nomads </span>
  <em>
    <span>or</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Water Tribe.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aang squeezed her hand before letting go and starting up the hill towards the bison-landing pavilion. “Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Go where?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He thought for a moment, then realized he already knew. “The North Pole. Your tribe’s warriors were taking them a message, right?” She nodded. “Well, now it’s up to us to make sure it gets there.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hama followed him. “And maybe with the Northern Tribe I can finally learn some advanced waterbending. Then we can defeat the Fire Lord and save my people.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He grinned and reached down to help her up. “That’s the spirit.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. The Warriors of Kyoshi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Man, this one took a while to write. I like how it turned out, but maybe when I look at it in the morning that'll change. It usually does.</p><p>On an unrelated note: I feel like everyone who was violently #notlikeothergirls in middle school ended up being gay and/or trans. I know I sure as hell did.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey, do you mind if we stop here?”</p><p> </p><p>Hama leaned over the side of Appa’s saddle and looked down. They were surrounded on all sides by ocean, and the small island below was the only land they could see. It was early afternoon, and she wanted to keep going, but she had no idea when they would next be able to land. At some point they would have to stop for the night, and as far as Hama knew, this was the last place to do so before the Earth Kingdom. “Sure.”</p><p> </p><p>Aang tugged on Appa’s reins, and soon they landed on the beach. Appa flopped down with a yawn. “I guess we’re sleeping here, then,” Hama said as she jumped down. She pulled her parka off. “At least it’s warm. And we can practice waterbending in the bay.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure, we can practice waterbending. Or we can do this!” Aang wriggled out of his clothes--Hama averted her eyes until she realized she was wearing underwear--and dove into the water. “Cold!” he yelled, before disappearing under the surface again. He reappeared at the center of the bay and treaded water for a moment, looking around.</p><p> </p><p>Hama shook her head. They had just narrowly escaped capture at the South Pole, seen his mentor’s skeleton at the Air Temple, and Aang wanted to go <em> swimming? </em>“What on earth are you doing?” she called.</p><p> </p><p>“Just wait,” he yelled back. “This island is the best place to ride elephant koi.” A dark shadow appeared in the water behind him. “Hey, here’s one right now!”</p><p> </p><p>“Aang, I don’t think that’s a--” Hama broke off with a gasp. An enormous black fin--one that <em> definitely </em>didn’t belong to a koi fish--had emerged from the water. Aang looked up. </p><p> </p><p>And screamed.</p><p> </p><p>He swam frantically for the shore, but Hama could tell that he wasn’t moving nearly fast enough. She ran towards him, freezing the water under her feet with each step. Whatever the hell that thing was, she didn’t want it anywhere near Aang. As soon as she reached him, she grabbed his hand and pulled him up onto the ice walkway she had just created. She froze the water around the fin, hoping to trap it while they made their escape.</p><p> </p><p>At the other end of the bay, a head arose from the water. It was easily the size of Appa’s entire body, smooth and flat with a pair of bright green eyes. The creature blinked, then blasted them with water from its mouth. Hama seized hold of the water and bent it back into its face. “Run!”</p><p> </p><p>The two turned and sprinted towards shore, but the slippery ice hindered their progress. The creature brought the end of its tail down on the walkway, shattering it and sending Aang and Hama flying into the water. Its snakelike body was incredibly long, Hama realized--it must have been coiled up at the bottom of the bay before Aang disturbed it. Speaking of coiling, the creature was circling them quickly, getting tighter and tighter as it prepared to eat them. Aang and Hama were nearly in complete shadow.</p><p> </p><p>“Hama, could you make an ice raft for me?” he whispered. She complied, wondering what his plan was.</p><p> </p><p>He climbed onto the block of ice she created, then jumped up to stand on the creature’s back. “Hey, you! Big monster thing! Look over here!”</p><p> </p><p>The creature sent a blast of water in his direction, but he nimbly jumped out of the way and flew towards the beach on an air scooter. It uncoiled itself to follow him, leaving Hama free to swim to shore. Once they were both safely on land, the creature lost interest and submerged itself in the bay. </p><p> </p><p>Hama pulled the water out of her clothes as Aang dried himself with a gust of wind. “Well, that was interesting,” she said. “I’m guessing that was <em> not </em>an elephant koi?”</p><p> </p><p>Aang shook his head. “Kuzon told me this was the best place to ride them,” he said with a frown.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, either Kuzon was wrong, or that thing wasn’t around forty years ago.” She looked around and saw a path leading into the woods. “I’m hungry. Maybe there’s a village on this island where we can beg for some food.”</p><p> </p><p>They started down the path, but suddenly a group of people appeared from the trees. A pair of hands grabbed Hama’s elbows and tied her arms behind her back, preventing her from bending. Somebody else pulled Aang backward. Hama twisted around to get a good look at her assailant and was shocked to see a teenage girl, wearing white-and-red makeup and a green silk dress. The girl met her eyes before hurriedly blindfolding her.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s take them back to the village,” called another female voice. Somebody pushed Hama forward.</p><p> </p><p>When their blindfolds were removed, Aang and Hama were tied to a wooden pole in the center of a small village. They were surrounded by girls in the same outfits as the one who had attacked Hama.</p><p> </p><p>“You two have some explaining to do,” said one of them.</p><p> </p><p>“And if you don’t answer our questions, we’re throwing you back in the water with the unagi,” another added.</p><p> </p><p>“We were just trying to ride the elephant koi,” said Aang. “We didn’t mean any harm.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, right,” scoffed the first girl. “Everyone knows the elephant koi are migratory. They only come here in the autumn and winter.”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t,” Aang pouted. </p><p> </p><p>“You two are clearly Fire Nation spies. Kyoshi Island has stayed out of the war so far, and we intend to keep it that way.”</p><p> </p><p>Aang brightened. “This island is named after Avatar Kyoshi? I know her!”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s impossible. She was born here over three hundred years ago. How could you know her?”</p><p> </p><p>“I know her because <em> I’m </em>the Avatar.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ridiculous! The Avatar hasn’t been seen in forty years. There’s no way--”</p><p> </p><p>Aang flew out of his bonds and did a neat flip over their heads. The gathered crowd--which, Hama noticed, also included several more ordinary-looking people from the village--gasped. Aang did a few more acrobatics, and they all cheered. She rolled her eyes. <em> Show-off. </em></p><p> </p><p>One of the girls opened her metal fan and used its frighteningly-sharp-looking blade to saw through the ropes tying Hama to the pole. “Sorry about all that,” she whispered. “We’re just a little paranoid about the Fire Nation.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay,” Hama said. “You have every right to be.”</p><p> </p><p>A young man entered the village, leading a grumpy-looking Appa. “I found this strange beast by the shore.”</p><p> </p><p>Aang broke into a grin. “Hey, everyone! Meet my flying bison!” He ran over and patted Appa’s nose, and a group of little girls eagerly followed him. Hama walked over, too, but only to pick up the box of waterbending scrolls on his back. Then she went back into the woods. She needed to find somewhere she could practice in peace.</p><p> </p><p>After walking down the path for a few minutes, she found a tiny, trickling stream, which she followed until it widened into a small pool. “Better than nothing, I guess,” she muttered. She missed the South Pole, where she was always surrounded by ice and ocean, more than ever. <em> “Focus, </em>Hama.” She retrieved the first scroll from the box and laid it out, awkwardly, on a stump. She had only worked from a waterbending scroll once in her life--the night before the first attack on the Water Tribe--and then she had had Sasato to help her. Now she was alone.</p><p> </p><p>“I can hold that for you,” said a voice from the forest.</p><p> </p><p>Hama jumped. Okay, she had <em> thought </em>she was alone. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>Hama turned around. The girl who had untied her was leaning against a tree. She had changed out of her long green dress and white makeup, and was now in a blue shirt that hung down to her knees--the girls had probably been on their way to a formal event or something when they met them, Hama reasoned, and now that they were back home they had changed back into their normal attire. Now that she was dressed more normally, Hama could get a good look at her face. She had never seen anyone from outside the Water Tribe, and this girl’s pale skin and long brown hair fascinated her. She was remarkably pretty, Hama realized--something she had never thought about any girl back home.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re the Avatar’s friend, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Hama forced herself to focus on her scroll. “I’m his waterbending teacher,” she replied. </p><p> </p><p><em> “You’re </em>teaching him waterbending? You seem to be in the process of learning it yourself.” The girl gestured to the scroll. </p><p> </p><p>Hama didn’t answer. The truth was, she had no idea what she was doing, but she hated the fact that this girl could see that so easily.</p><p> </p><p>“Your friend is getting a lot of attention back in the village,” said the girl, seemingly incapable of getting a hint.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t care.” Hama raised the water in front of her and froze it into a wall.</p><p> </p><p>“You know, he’s not the only celebrity on this island.” </p><p> </p><p>She looked up at her, accidentally letting the ice melt and fall back into the river. “What do you mean?”</p><p> </p><p>“None of us have seen a waterbender before. Everyone really wants to meet you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m busy.” She pulled some more water from the stream and twisted it around herself.</p><p> </p><p>“It won’t take long. The dojo’s only a few minutes from here--that’s where the girls and I practice.”</p><p> </p><p>Hama remembered the other girls of her tribe, coming out of healing class chatting amiably, then going silent as she passed by. She remembered one girl pointing at her and whispering something to the others, and all of them laughing. She remembered pulling her hood up, pretending she didn’t care, and going back to her parents’ lodge after a fruitless day of practicing warrior-style waterbending.</p><p> </p><p>“No, thanks,” she replied.</p><p> </p><p>“Why not?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t really get along with other girls. I’m a warrior.”</p><p> </p><p>“So are we.”</p><p> </p><p>Hama remembered her first day of waterbending lessons, herself and Mika standing apart from the group of boys. She remembered watching them bend, critiquing their form in her mind, thinking, <em> I can do better than that. </em> She remembered pushing herself to do better, to <em> be </em>better, to prove that she wasn’t just a silly little girl who got lost on her way to healing lessons.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t get it, okay? I’ve only ever had two friends in my life. One is Aang and the other…” she glanced at the ground. She could still see the wreckage of her tribe’s ships floating in the waves. “The other was also a boy,” she said, finally.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry about whatever happened to him." </p><p> </p><p>Hama shook her head. She would never stop missing Minuk, but she had other things to focus on. “The point is that girls don’t usually like me, and I don’t like them, either.”</p><p> </p><p>“Have you really never had <em> any </em>female friends?”</p><p> </p><p>Hama remembered the boys of her waterbending class surrounding Mika’s canoe, rocking it back and forth and laughing as she clung to the side, screaming. She remembered thinking <em> maybe this will make them like me </em>as she created a massive wave that sent the other girl flying into the water. She remembered how the boys stared at her for a moment and then rowed away, and how Mika had cried as she climbed back into her canoe, her hands trembling too much to even pull the water out of her parka.</p><p> </p><p>“No.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, maybe now’s the time to start.” The girl grabbed Hama’s hand and shook it. “I’m Yuko, by the way.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hama.”</p><p> </p><p>Yuko started back towards the town. Despite herself, Hama followed.</p><p> </p><p>As they approached the dojo, she looked through the windows and was surprised to see the group of girls training in the same dresses and makeup that they had worn when they attacked them. <em> Do they really fight like that?  </em></p><p> </p><p>She was about to ask Yuko about it when they arrived at the door. The girls stopped practicing and ran over, crowding the small opening.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you really a waterbender?” one asked.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s the South Pole like?” asked another.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you show us some waterbending?”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you gonna defeat the Fire Nation?”</p><p> </p><p>“Can we ride on the giant flying bison you came on?”</p><p> </p><p>Yuko must have noticed how overwhelmed Hama looked, because she waved them back. “Come on, at least give her a chance to introduce herself.”</p><p> </p><p>Hama gave a weak wave. “My name is Hama.” She coughed. “Uh, yes, I’m really a waterbender, the South Pole is… really cold, I sure <em> hope </em>Aang and I can defeat the Fire Nation…” She looked around at the sea of expectant faces. “What were your other questions?”</p><p> </p><p>One girl tossed her fans to the side. “I think we deserve a break from our training.” She held a hand out to Hama. “I’m Ume. It’s really nice to meet you. Would you like some pastries?”</p><p> </p><p>Yuko and a few other girls quickly cleared the weapons off of the floor and sprawled on the ground. Ume ran outside and brought back a basket of delicious-smelling food. Hama knew it wasn’t polite, but she reached for a sweet roll as soon as the basket was set down.</p><p> </p><p>“You seem hungry,” Yuko said with a chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>“I haven’t eaten since I left my village. Yesterday morning.”</p><p> </p><p>“You poor thing!” Ume shoved the basket towards her. “Take as much as you want. We’ve got plenty.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks.” Hama looked around at the girls in their makeup and long, flowing dresses. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you wear all that stuff?”</p><p> </p><p>Yuko laughed. “Same reason you wear your clothes. What, did you think we would train naked?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I mean…” Hama searched for the right words. “Don’t the dresses get in the way?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sometimes, but you get used to it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wouldn’t it be easier to wear shorter skirts? Or pants?”</p><p> </p><p>“Our kimono are a part of our uniform. We wouldn’t fight without them any more than we’d fight without our armor.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh.” Hama looked down at her clothes. Women’s clothing in the Water Tribes wasn’t all that different from men’s, but she had asked her mother to make her an outfit as close to the men’s style as she could: a parka that reached her knees rather than her ankles, without any decorative beadwork, and a simple tunic underneath. If not for her hair, she could easily be mistaken for a boy from a distance. You could tell these girls were female from a mile away. “What about your makeup?”</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t makeup. It’s war paint.”</p><p> </p><p>Hama thought back to all the times she had seen Minuk preparing for battle, smearing his face with black and gray. She had always pestered him to let her wear it too, but it was sacred, reserved for fully-fledged warriors. A boy’s graduation from warrior training, and his first time putting on the traditional armor and war paint, was a day of celebration for the entire tribe. She glanced at the girls’ faces, the white foundation and angular red lines over their eyes. “It looks…” girly? fancy? “Nice,” she finally said.</p><p> </p><p>Yuko leaned over and grabbed two wooden bowls from a table against the wall. One was filled with white paint and the other with red. “It would look good on you,” she said.</p><p> </p><p>Ume perked up. “Yeah, you should join us! There’s never been a waterbender in the Kyoshi Warriors. You could be the first.”</p><p> </p><p>“No.” The other girls’ faces fell. Hama realized it had come out harsher than she’d meant. “I mean, I’d be honored, but I have to keep teaching Aang. He’s the world’s only hope.”</p><p> </p><p>“You have a duty. I understand.” Yuko took her hand. “We all do.”</p><p> </p><p>Ume stood up. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun along the way! Come on, let’s go down to the beach. You can show us some waterbending tricks!”</p><p> </p><p>They arrived at the beach quickly, and Hama ran through several of her basic forms, to much admiration. She didn’t know why she was having so much fun performing for this group of girls, but watching them ooh and aah over her bending warmed her to the core. Really, she was only hoping to impress Yuko, but a glance in her direction revealed that she was standing off to the side silently. When she noticed Hama’s eyes on her, she hurriedly looked away. Hama frowned.</p><p> </p><p>They stayed there for nearly half an hour. After she exhausted every form she had learned from Sasato, she started making things up on the spot--her ice sculpture of an otter-penguin was especially a hit. Eventually, however, most of the girls left, citing training to be finished and chores to be done. Hama looked up to see Yuko standing alone on the sand.</p><p><br/>
“You can go,” Hama said. </p><p> </p><p>Yuko looked crushed. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you wanted to be alone.” She turned around and started back towards the village.</p><p> </p><p>“No, no!” Hama said, perhaps too forcefully. Yuko looked over her shoulder. “I mean… I’m glad you’re here. I was just worried… all the other girls left. So I thought there was somewhere you’d rather be too. And you were just… I don’t know. Sticking around to be polite.”</p><p> </p><p>Yuko shook her head and turned back to face her. “No, I…” she took a deep breath. “Your waterbending is really cool. <em> You’re </em>really cool. I just wish you could stay longer. You’d really fit in with the Kyoshi Warriors.”</p><p> </p><p>“You think?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course. Weren’t you paying attention? Everyone loved you, Hama.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just… I never got along with the girls of my tribe. Back home, girls learn to heal and boys learn to fight. The girls didn’t like me because I didn’t go to healing class with them, and the boys didn’t like me because I was a girl. I never fit in anywhere.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, here we’re girls <em> and </em>warriors.”</p><p> </p><p>“Before I got here, I didn’t even think that was possible.” Hama tugged on her hair. “But I’m not that good at fighting, especially not with those fans you guys use.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s all right. Nobody is, at first. You learn. Besides, you can make up for it with fancy waterbending tricks. You saw how much they all loved your demonstration.”</p><p> </p><p>“What about you? You didn’t seem all that impressed.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I was, but…” Yuko looked down and kicked some sand out of her shoe. “Your bending seemed kind of… juvenile.” Hama bristled. Yuko shook her head. “That came out wrong. It’s just… you’re clearly not used to using waterbending to fight. And earlier, you were trying to teach yourself from a scroll. Plus, you’re <em> thirteen. </em>Why are you the Avatar’s waterbending teacher? If he hasn’t mastered water yet, why isn’t he still at the South Pole, learning from an adult?”</p><p> </p><p>Hama sat down on the edge of the water. She pulled out a thin stream and twisted it through her fingers as she spoke. “We <em> were </em> at the South Pole. I was supposed to catch Aang up on the basics before he joined the waterbending class. But…” images flashed through her mind. Fireballs crashing into the streets of her town. The warriors fighting wave after wave of Fire Nation soldiers. Sasato making her promise, <em> no matter what happens, don’t turn back. </em>She blinked back tears. “We were attacked,” she said finally, simply.</p><p> </p><p>Yuko sat down beside her. “I’m so sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>“It was the Fire Nation. They were trying to capture all of our waterbenders.” She took a shaky breath. “Aang and I were the only ones who escaped.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Hama…” Yuko grabbed her hand and squeezed it. The water Hama had been fidgeting with trickled to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m going to rescue them.” It was what Hama had been telling herself, over and over, whenever she thought about the waterbenders. Aang had his glorious destiny, to bring balance to the planet or whatever, but Hama had her own personal goal. “As soon as I learn advanced waterbending and figure out how to sneak into the Fire Nation. That’s why I’m doing all this. I’m actually more focused on saving my people than helping Aang save the whole world.” She gave a mirthless laugh. “That’s a little selfish, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the opposite of selfish.” Yuko entwined Hama’s fingers with her own. “It’s exactly how I would feel if I lost the other Kyoshi Warriors.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks. It’s good to know that I’m not a colossal asshole, since I’m just going along with this for my own ulterior motive.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hama, don’t <em> ever </em>think that about yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>They were quite close together, Hama realized suddenly. She could feel Yuko’s breath on her cheeks. She turned and looked into her eyes. They were startlingly green--the same color as the unagi’s, but far more kind. Yuko brushed a stray hair behind Hama’s ear.</p><p> </p><p>Hama’s heart pounded. She forced herself to take deep breaths. What the hell was going on? Could she really not handle having <em> one </em>female friend? Unless Yuko was more than--</p><p> </p><p>No. She pushed the thought out of her mind.</p><p> </p><p>She stood up, letting Yuko’s hand fall from her face. “I should get back into town.”</p><p> </p><p>Yuko nodded, looking slightly sad. “Okay. They’re probably wondering where we are.”</p><p> </p><p>The path from the beach ended by the dojo, just down the hill from the rest of the village. A wave of relief rushed through Hama’s body when she saw the squat building. Their walk had been almost exclusively composed of awkward silence.</p><p> </p><p>The Kyoshi Warriors’ training had obviously ended for the day. The dojo was silent and dark, its shades pulled down over the windows. Hama briefly wondered what the warriors did in their time off. Did they have families in the village? Jobs? Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when they turned the corner. Two girls, still in their warrior uniforms, were fighting against the dojo wall--no, not fighting, she realized, though one had the other pinned to the smooth wooden surface. They were <em> kissing, </em>their faces pressed together, the one against the wall with her arms wrapped around the other’s waist.</p><p> </p><p>Yuko stuck out her tongue. “Get a <em> room, </em>guys.”</p><p> </p><p>One of them turned around. Hama realized with a jolt that it was Ume. “In case you haven’t noticed, there’s nobody else around. We were being plenty private until <em> someone </em> decided to interrupt.” Then she sized up Yuko and Hama. “Although… the beach is even <em> more </em>private. What exactly were you two up to?”</p><p> </p><p>Yuko flushed. “It wasn’t anything like that!”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, okay.” Ume shrugged. “Just leave us alone.” As they walked away, Hama heard her mutter, “Sheesh, can’t two warriors make out in peace?”</p><p> </p><p>“Is that… normal?” Hama whispered as soon as they were far enough away. </p><p> </p><p>“What, Ume and Sakiko? I’m as surprised as you are. I mean, I never saw any chemistry, and Sakiko’s been flirting with Natsue all week, but as long as they’re happy.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I mean… two warriors being in a relationship. Two <em> girls </em>being in a relationship.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure. Practically half the girls here either are dating or have dated. It helps in battle, sometimes--you’re a lot more coordinated when you’re fighting with people you know really well.” She laughed. “Of course, sometimes it makes things worse. You should’ve seen the way Natsue and Michiko fought after they broke up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wow.” Hama pictured the people of her town. Practically everyone was related, by blood or marriage or both, but marriages were only between men and women, and romantic relationships were basically just a precursor for engagement, marriage, and children. “I can’t even imagine that happening in our tribe.”</p><p> </p><p>“You know, earlier today you said you couldn’t imagine a woman warrior. Maybe you should broaden your <em> imagination </em>to things beyond your tribe.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re right.” Hama stopped walking and grabbed both of Yuko’s hands. A voice in her head screamed <em> this is stupid, she doesn’t feel that way, don’t ruin a perfectly good friendship, </em>but she silenced it, leaned forward, and placed her lips on Yuko’s.</p><p> </p><p>Hama had never kissed a boy before. The girls of her tribe had teased her that she never would. But now she realized that she would never <em> need </em>to, because this feeling, of the whole world melting away and the softness of Yuko’s lips and her hand on the back of Hama’s head, pulling them closer together, was all she would ever need. It felt like an eternity before Yuko pulled away.</p><p> </p><p>“Now that,” she whispered, “was better than imagination.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Gan Long Prison</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The gates of Gan Long prison clanged shut. Iroh pulled off the hood of his cloak and let his eyes adjust to the dark.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The air was parchingly dry and thick with the smell of sulfur. Waves of heat radiated from the metal floor, coming up from the very-active volcano below. Iroh didn’t mind it--firebenders had a high tolerance for heat, after all--but he wondered what it must be like for someone who grew up surrounded by snow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Water Tribe prisoners were locked in bare cages suspended from the ceiling with chains. The architect his father had hired had spared no expense when it came to securing the place: the entire building was made of metal, with no porous surfaces where water could potentially be stored, and the cages were designed to prevent them from accessing the groundwater, even though nobody even knew if that was possible. From the bars of each cage hung a set of chains to restrain the prisoners when they were allowed to drink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh shook himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Remember what you came for. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He swept his gaze over the array of cages, taking note of the inhabitants of each. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Grown woman. No. Little boy. No. Old man. No. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Finally, in the corner, he spotted a girl, lying on her back in the center of her cage. He smiled--she was here. He hadn’t lied to his father after all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His footsteps clanged on the metal walkway as he approached. He waved away the guard in front of her and leaned over the railings. His heart sank.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was a young girl, all right, somewhere between the ages of twelve and fifteen, but she wasn’t the one he was looking for. Her face was rounder than the other girl’s, her hair in two braids instead of loose. She sat up and glared at him when she noticed him looking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the hell do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>want?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh jumped back a bit at the acid in her voice. “Nothing, nothing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then leave me the hell alone.” She turned around and hunched her shoulders. “I don’t want to see any more of you monsters than I have to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to hurt you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You expect me to believe that?” She whipped around to face him again. “You people invaded my home, took me captive, and killed my people. Even if you weren’t personally there, you’re still responsible. You ashmakers are all alike if you ask me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh frowned. Her attack was unfair, he knew--the Fire Nation had many wonderful citizens, the most beautiful culture and most advanced technology in the world, and everything they did was for the glory of their nation--but he had to admit she was partially right. They had invaded her home and taken her captive. And he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been personally there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We weren’t trying to kill anyone. We don’t enjoy wanton violence. My--” he broke off. It was probably best if she didn’t know who he was. “The Fire Lord only ordered that more severe measures be used against those who resisted.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so you expected fathers to sit quietly by while their children were taken? Husbands and wives to allow you to separate them?” She pointed at the man cage beside her, who was slumped against the bars. “You want to know what really happened? Talk to Katto. He was one of the best waterbenders in our tribe. Then his </span>
  <em>
    <span>son </span>
  </em>
  <span>was murdered right in front of him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh frowned. “That shouldn’t have happened. They shouldn’t have killed any waterbenders.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His son wasn’t a waterbender.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He blinked. “Waterbenders can have nonbender children?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The waterbender girl looked confused--the first emotion she had shown other than anger. “Can firebenders not?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No--I mean, it’s not common. Usually, when it does happen, the parents send the kid off to a country house or something where they’re raised in secret. Either that or the kid dies.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You disown and kill your own children? And you say </span>
  <em>
    <span>we’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>the savages?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re not killed! Nonbender children are just… weaker. More susceptible to common diseases.” A lot of the children of Fire Nation nobility died around the age of four--the same age firebending talent usually manifested. Was it possible the two were connected? He shook his head.  “Of course there are areas where they can be useful, but nonbenders are naturally less suited to serve the nation. You’re a bender--don’t you believe you’re more capable than the others of protecting your people?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” She straightened to look him in the eye. “Only one of our elders is a waterbender. The others are just as honored and respected as he is. We have two sets of warriors--they’re both equally valued. My mother and two of my brothers are nonbenders. I don’t even know if they’re alive.” Her voice cracked and she broke off. When she spoke again, her eyes were filled with tears. “I wish I was with them. I wish I wasn’t a bender so I could have died with my people. But I am. So I’ll fight with what I have.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh was hit in the shoulder with a pellet of ice. Another one struck him in the forehead. The prison was dry and hot--where was this coming from? He stared at the waterbender girl. As he watched, she pulled another tear from her cheek, froze it, and launched it at him. He ducked and it pinged off the bars of the cage behind him. He caught her eye for a moment--an expression of pure fury and pain--before he turned around. “Guards! This one is waterbending!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guards arrived immediately and restrained her within moments, then saluted to Iroh and went back to their posts. As he walked away, he heard the waterbender next to her chuckle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t know you had that much fight in you, Mika.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe Hama’s finally rubbed off on me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For all of our sakes, let’s hope she has.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Do y'all like Mika? I might put her in a few more chapters later on.</p><p>Also, thank you so much to everyone who's posted nice comments so far--those really give me life! I just utterly bombed the SAT so I could use the ego boost lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Leaving Kyoshi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Aang reached eagerly for the pastries on the table in front of him. “Oh, man! Dessert for breakfast? These people sure know how to treat an Avatar.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yesterday had been just about perfect--once he showed them a few airbending tricks, the people of Kyoshi had been head over heels for him--and, judging by the size of Hama’s smile when she finally came back from waterbending practice, she had had a pretty good day too. He didn’t know how a box of dusty old scrolls could make her so happy, but he was glad she was having a good time. He glanced across the table at her. She swallowed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I like it here, too, but…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang finished her sentence for her. “We need to leave.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. We need to get to the North Pole as soon as possible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A Kyoshi Warrior appeared at the door. Hama turned around. “Hey, Ume.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Yuko wants to talk to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang turned to Hama. “How do you know the warriors’ names? Didn’t you spend yesterday waterbending?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I took a break.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Aang could ask more, another warrior came in. Hama’s face turned bright pink. “Oh, uh, hey, Yuko. Ume, um, told me you were coming.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The warrior--Yuko--took another step inside, then hesitated. “Can I--can I sit down?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama scooted over to make room. They both met each other’s eyes for a second before looking away. Hama at last broke the silence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Yuko, I really--I really love your island, and I really appreciate your people’s hospitality, and I’m really sorry I have to say this, but--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re leaving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama nodded. “Today. We have a mission. And I have a duty to my people.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I understand.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll… I’ll miss you a lot.” Hama placed her hand on top of Yuko’s. Yuko smiled and entwined their fingers together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang’s eyes widened. “So that’s what you were doing yesterday.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama blushed. “Yep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He gestured to the two of them. “So are you two… you know… together?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama and Yuko looked at each other. Finally, Yuko removed her hand from Hama’s. “I don’t think so.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yuko--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry--it’s just--you’re about to go on this crazy journey across the world. And I have to stay here. And I won’t even be able to send you letters, since I won’t know where to send them to. We can’t keep up a relationship like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama looked hurt, but she nodded slowly. “It could be years before the war ends. I don’t… I don’t even know if I’ll survive. It would be unfair to you to make you wait for me.” She forced a laugh. “Especially here, surrounded by so many gorgeous girls.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yuko laughed, too, and this one was genuine. “You’re one to talk. I’m sure you’ll meet loads more on your travels. According to some of Avatar Kyoshi’s more risque poetry, Fire Nation girls are a sight to behold.” Then her tone became more serious. “But if there is… another girl--or even a boy--I won’t be mad. I… I really care about you, Hama. And I want you to be happy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want you to be happy, too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang looked from Hama to Yuko and back again. This wasn’t how romance was in the Air Temples. Of course there were plenty of same-sex couples--that’s just what happens when you’re surrounded only by other monks--but regardless of gender, a relationship was for life. But, as he was starting to learn, there was more to the world than the Air Temples. He shrugged. “As long as you’re sure this is best.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama picked up a sticky bun and tossed it at him. “We never even asked your opinion. Don’t you need to pack or something?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang took the hint and went outside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The village headwoman, Reika, met him on the doorstep. She smiled when she saw him. “Avatar Aang. I hope you’ve been enjoying your time on our island.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have! You’ve all been so kind to us. And breakfast was delicious!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reika laughed. “I’m glad you liked it. You and your friend are welcome here for as long as you need to stay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Aang couldn’t quite bring himself to tell this woman who had shown them so much kindness that he and Hama had decided to leave. Reika started to walk towards the village square and beckoned him to follow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The people of Kyoshi Island are honored to host the Avatar. We’re all hoping for a speedy end to this horrible war.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Aang felt a twist in his gut. Just when he was beginning to relax, someone had to bring up the crushing responsibility of being the Avatar. He pointed to the square, where a large crowd was examining Appa. One child tugged on his fur, while several others were trying to feed him apples. “What’s going on down there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Reika clapped a hand over her mouth. She ran towards them. “Children! Stop harassing the Avatar’s bison!” Reluctantly, they stepped away. “I’m so sorry. They were only hoping for a short ride--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Impossible,” came Hama’s voice from behind them. Aang and Reika both turned. She and the two Kyoshi Warriors had evidently followed them from the house. “Didn’t Aang tell you? We’re leaving. We need to get to the North Pole.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reika’s face fell, but she quickly regained her composure. “Well, we’re happy to help in any way we can. Would you like to be escorted by the Warriors? They can take you at least as far as Ba Sing Se.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang looked at Hama and Yuko, who had conspicuously put as much space between them as possible. Things could be awkward between them, now that they had broken up--or whatever had happened in there. “I don’t think Appa could carry all those people.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Very well. If there’s anything else we can do for you--money, supplies--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’d actually really appreciate some supplies,” Hama cut in. “We had to leave the South Pole in a hurry, so we couldn’t take anything with us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course!” Reika pointed at various members of the crowd. “You, get the Avatar and his friend some clothes and bedding. You, pack some dried food--it needs to be suitable for a long journey. If anyone else has anything they can contribute, bring it here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Within minutes, the square was piled high with supplies. The basic things, like bedding and crates of food, were stacked on the floor, while people crowded around him to personally offer more valuable gifts--or, at least, the things they deemed valuable, like their grandfather’s good-luck necklace or honey cakes baked according to a secret family recipe. Aang was forced to refuse most of the offers out of concern for Appa’s back. He hated refusing such generosity, but he didn’t have Hama there to do it. She had run off as soon as the crowd started bringing out their gifts, and he had no idea where she was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After an agonizing half hour, Aang finally settled on a sleeping bag for both of them, a few boxes of vegetarian food, and a small purse full of coins. He had just finished loading it all up, with Reika’s help, when Hama came running over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where’ve you been?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She climbed up Appa’s tail. “Don’t worry, I was doing something important. Look at this!” She pulled the stopper on a dried calabash gourd that hung from a leather strap over her shoulder. A stream of water poured out, which she sent in an arc above her head. The water splashed back into the gourd and she replaced the stopper. “I saw the Warriors using them to carry drinking water yesterday. Pretty clever, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, pretty clever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tossed him another, slightly smaller gourd. “I got you one, too. After all, I’m going to turn you into a master waterbender.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.” Aang laid the gourd down beside him. The strap would easily get caught on the hanging cloth of his cape, and besides, he didn’t enjoy the feeling of touching part of a dead animal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama swung her legs over the side of Appa’s saddle. She checked to make sure they still had the waterbending scrolls--they were her only piece of home, Aang realized, just like Appa was his--then sat down. He climbed down to sit on Appa’s head and grabbed the reins. “Thank you all so much for your hospitality,” he called to the crowd. Then he patted Appa’s forehead. “Yip-yip!”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Having Hama and Yuko be awkward middle-schoolers after their first kiss was very fun. I wanted to include a scene of Reika showing Aang around the island like a benevolent Joo Dee, but couldn't fit it in, and it wouldn't have really contributed anything anyway.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Song Lai Village</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Look, a village! I bet someone there will give us shelter for the night,” Aang said from his place on Appa’s head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama nodded. “And maybe we can buy some real food.” She knew Aang’s diet was an important part of his culture, but really, she had been subsisting on vegetables for far too long. She could really go for some fresh otter-penguin right now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking over the side of Appa’s saddle, she saw a smattering of buildings clustered around the mouth of a river. Several boats were moored to a dock that jutted into the sea. That was good--even if there wasn’t any otter-penguin, at least the inhabitants of this village would have some fish. Fish tasted like home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang pulled on the reins and guided Appa to a patch of grass behind a small thatch-roofed house. A woman tending the garden jumped back when they landed.  “We--We have nothing left, I promise. I gave the last of our money to the soldiers who came through last week.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” asked Hama.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A little boy tugged at the woman’s sleeve. “They’re not soldiers, Mama. The Fire Nation comes on metal boats, not giant sheep-pigs.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang looked offended. “He’s a flying bison, not a sheep-pig. And we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>from the Fire Nation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman still looked skeptical.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can prove it. Look.” Hama unstoppered her gourd, bent the water out, and froze it in front of her. “I’m a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. And Aang’s the Avatar.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman’s face turned white and she drew back. “The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Avatar?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang nudged Hama. “Maybe don’t lead with that next time,” he muttered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why? It worked on Kyoshi,” she whispered back. She raised her voice to address the woman again. “Listen, all we ask is a meal and a place to sleep for the night. We have money.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman shook her head. “The Avatar’s a wanted man. I don’t want any trouble.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang raised his eyebrows. “But we’re in the Earth Kingdom. The Earth King should love me, since I’m destined to defeat his rival.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know which century you come from, kid. Song Lai is a Fire Nation colony. Has been for twenty-five years.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A different century? You’re more right than you know, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hama thought. Out loud, she said, “Aang is the world’s last and only hope. By giving us shelter for the night, you will be striking a blow against the heart of the Fire Nation.” The woman’s expression didn’t change. Hama sighed. “We’ll give you two copper coins just to let us stay in your yard. You won’t even know we’re here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She still looked frightened, but the woman snatched the coins from Hama’s grip. “Be gone by sunrise.” Then she ran inside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang jumped to the ground. “Well, these people seem nice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you kidding? She thought we were from the Fire Nation!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So did the people of Kyoshi, at first. They warmed up to us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, did you not hear the part about how this village is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fire Nation Colony?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hama began to pace. “What if the Fire Nation comes? What if they capture us? What if the last Southern waterbender </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>the last airbender are captured at the same time? What if--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hama, you’re getting ahead of yourself.” Aang grabbed her hand. “That woman said the soldiers came just last week. They won’t come again. And if they do, we’ll be a match for them. Remember how we beat the Unagi?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t beat the Unagi, we ran away before it could eat us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Same thing. Listen, we’re just going to stay here for one night. Like she said, we’ll be gone by sunrise. Now let’s go see if we can buy some fresh food.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Driven only by the growling of her stomach, Hama reluctantly followed him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The people of Song Lai didn’t have much food, but they had even less money, so Aang and Hama were able to buy enough food for an evening meal. They ate on the grass, while Appa contentedly munched on a bale of hay, and watched the sun fall into the sea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wonder what it would be like to set sail towards the sun,” Hama mused. “Just keep going until you hit land.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We could do that. On Appa.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Hama plucked a piece of grass and worked it through her fingers. “I mean, going west forever--we’d eventually come right back to where we started. And I don’t think we’d see much of anything other than ocean.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think we’d hit the Eastern Air Temple, if we went far enough.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’d take a long time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“True.” Aang was silent for a moment. “It’d be more fun, instead of picking a direction, to a pick place. If I could go anywhere in the world right now, it’d be to Hyongshi Island. I’ve always wanted to see a hopping llama.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d go to Ba Sing Se. Elder Tirik says there are hundreds of thousands of people there--can you imagine?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the back of her mind, Hama knew she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say she would go to the North Pole to complete the mission, but she figured she had earned a break from thinking about the mission. She leaned back on her hands and watched as the first stars of the evening came into view. “The constellations are different here than back home.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang looked up too. “What do they look like back home?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat on the grass and talked until the moon was high in the sky. For a moment, they weren’t two warriors, the last of both their cultures, destined to save the world--they were two children, two friends, looking up at the stars and chatting. At some point they both decided it would be too much work to climb up and get the sleeping bags from Appa’s saddle, so they curled up into the bison’s soft fur and told stories until they fell asleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama awakened in the half-light of early dawn to the sound of arguing from the front of the house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I swear we have nothing. Please, leave us alone.” It was the woman who had spoken to them that afternoon. A rough male voice responded to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing? </span>
  </em>
  <span>I find that hard to believe. Soldiers, search the place. Take anything of value. If you actually find nothing, burn the village--we have no need of it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no!” The woman’s voice was frantic. “I--I have two copper coins. That’s all. Please, take them and leave.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now, was that so hard?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman cried out. Hama heard a door being thrown open and several sets of footsteps pounding on floorboards. The man’s voice spoke again, slightly muffled now that it was coming from inside. “I see a rather nice set of porcelain bowls, two sacks of rice, some dried fish… clearly your definition of </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing </span>
  </em>
  <span>is quite different from mine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I already gave you all of our money--please--” She was cut off by the cry of a small child. Her son, Hama realized.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now, this is a fine young boy. Seems he’d be useful on the front lines. Little skinny, but I think he’d at least be able to carry cannonballs.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The mother screamed so loudly that a flock of birds took off from a nearby tree. Aang shot up. “What’s going on?” he whispered to Hama.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fire Nation,” she whispered back. He scrambled to his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve got to do something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before either of them could make a move, though, a Fire Nation soldier kicked open the back door. “Uh, Commander? There’s someone in this lady’s garden.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another man appeared behind him, in the pointy-shouldered armor of an officer. He shot a jet of fire from the palm of his hand at the two of them. The heat was scorching, but Hama refused to step back. His eyes widened as he took in Appa’s sleeping form, Hama’s Water Tribe parka, and Aang’s arrow tattoos. “Not just anyone, I see. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Avatar.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang stood and leveled his staff at the commander. “Leave this village alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned to the woman. “Did you really think you could get away with hiding fugitives? Men, burn this pathetic place to the ground.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Leave this village </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hama echoed, grabbing her water gourd. The commander laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think I’m frightened of a little Water Tribe peasant? You can’t even bend. All the waterbenders of your tribe are rotting in prison--where they </span>
  <em>
    <span>belong.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama slammed him against the wall with a blast of water and froze him there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her vision was clouded by memories: her home under attack, her people loaded onto a metal ship. How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>he make light of their suffering, of </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>suffering, of the fact that she had lost everyone she had ever known.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She melted the ice, letting the commander fall to the ground, and formed a water whip that knocked another soldier off his feet. He struggled to regain his footing. She tossed the gourd aside--it didn’t have anywhere near enough water to fight this many men. She could feel the ocean nearby, though her view of it was blocked by the house, and she reached for it. A shadow fell over Song Lai village. The soldiers looked up in shock: towering over their heads was an enormous wave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama could feel the power contained in that wave. Its energy coursed through her chi paths, longing to be released and to rain down destruction. She became dimly aware of Aang calling her name. She forced herself to lower her arms and look at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hama, please!” He pointed to the woman, who clutched her son in the doorway, looking more terrified than ever. Other residents of the village had appeared in the street. Some were frantically running away, others were collecting what valuables they had, and still others stood frozen in the street, staring up at the looming wave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook her head. “I won’t let another innocent village be destroyed.” With a powerful push, she let the water fall back into the ocean. The ships tied to the pier rocked back and forth for a moment, then lay still.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Fire Nation commander glanced at Hama, then at Aang, who still held his staff steadily in front of him. “Leave. This. Village. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Alone,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Aang repeated. The soldiers who hadn’t already run back to the boat quickly did so. The commander sent one more blast of fire at the thatched roof of the woman’s house before he turned and followed them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hama quickly doused the fire with a jet of water from the ocean. She turned back to the gathered villagers, expecting them to be triumphant and happy, but they shied away. She heard snatches of their conversation as they walked back to their homes:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should never have let the Avatar stay here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I knew they’d bring trouble.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Fire Nation will be mad as all hell when they come back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang and Hama looked at each other for a moment, then began loading their things onto Appa’s saddle in silence. Before they climbed up themselves, though, the woman appeared in the doorway, her son still glued to her side. In a voice so quiet Hama almost thought she had imagined it, she whispered,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>